As far as Louise Watling is concerned, there are only two reasons to miss the Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race: when your son is born and when he has appendicitis.

Those are the only two times Watling, 93, has been absent in the event’s 80-year history.

“I’m surprised it’s been going so many years,” said Watling, sitting in a folding chair near the starting point at Grandma Hartley’s Pond.

Watling had a vested interest in Monday’s race. Her grandson, William Watling, was favored to win first place for the second year in a row

Hosted by the Rochester Fire Department, the timed race begins at Snipatuit Road in Rochester, follows the Mattapoisett River and ends on Route 6 at the Herring Weir in Mattapoisett. Two-person teams from Rochester, Mattapoisett, Acushnet and other area towns compete in homemade boats, setting off at one-minute intervals.

Bill Taylor, Vin Ryan and David Hughes are responsible for keeping the departures on track.

Hughes shoots the gun signaling each team to start paddling. Taylor wields a long pole that keeps each boat in place until they hear that shot, and Ryan makes sure Taylor doesn't fall into the pond by holding onto a rope tied to his belt loop.

“I’m the most important guy here,” joked Ryan.

The three have at least 20 years of experience at the helm and are part of a tradition that keeps Jonathan Roy coming back to the race each year.

“Everybody that does the races, they’re really friendly and helpful, but at the same time competitive,” said Jonathan. Of the race he said, “It’s just a good tradition, and practice time is time I get to spend with my son.”

Jonathan and his son, Tucker, 6, have competed together for four years with two second places and a fourth place win in the parent/child division. They were 11^th overall last Memorial Day.

In their new boat, River Wolf, the Roys finished fifth in their division and 13th overall.

“I look at every parent and child as competition,” said Jonathan. “I don’t want to underestimate anybody.”

The Roys practiced several times before the big race as did last year’s record-breaking winners Dan Lawrence and Louise Watling’s grandson, William.

The pair began practicing on April 1 when the water was still only a few degrees above freezing.

“If you want to win, you’ve got to really practice a lot,” said William.

Their competitive nature is what drew the two together. Although they are distant relatives and had competed with other partners for years, the two didn’t really know each other until they started paddling together four years ago.

“It’s like a relationship. You have to both be committed,” said Lawrence.

Both come from a long line of Memorial Day boat racers. William's father raced for many years and Lawrence's great grandfather, great uncle, father and uncle all participated.

“The first place trophy is named after a great uncle of mine,” said Lawrence. “[The tradition] has been handed down from generation to generation.”

At 1:50:23 the pair secured the first place win again this year.

William’s grandmother was there to see it all. When asked if she would be at the end of the race, she answered: “You gotta see that.”

See the complete race results below.