CAMDEN – “The ooeyer and gooeyer the better,” Fish Relay Race coordinator Michelle Curtis said.

New to this year’s annual children’s event sponsored by The First and held during Camden’s Windjammer Weekend, was the addition of a third, younger, age group to the roster.

As the timer ticked, children age four to seven preceded the older children in scrambling into slickers and gloves, rooting through seaweed, and tossing their catch to their partners, who threw it through the opening of a bigger fish.

“It’s a different level of fun watching the younger ones versus watching the competitiveness of the 12 and 14 year olds,” Curtis said.

According to her, initial organizers found fun in the idea of an event involving children dressing as lobstermen, and maneuvering through some type of lobstering process.

“So, we do seaweed and fish,” she said.

The fastest in each heat were the winners.

Graffam Brothers coordinated the donation of herring from lobstermen in Rockport.

And, “We also had some teenagers who were gracious enough to hang poles over Camden Harbor and pull us up some Mackeral,” Curtis said.

Those fish? Not so lucky.

Sailing through the air. Picked up and dropped repeatedly. Thrown against plywood before being reburied under the seaweed.

“I think we’re going to turn the fish back in for bait,” said Curtis.

Winners: Ages four to seven: Emma and Ellie Felton

              Ages eight to 11: Noah Carpenter and Kaden Dufour

              Ages 12 to 14:  Charlie Ross and Matthew Clayton

Winners of the crate races, held earlier in the day, were:

                    1.) William Rice  312

                    2.) Lucas Drinkwater  307

                    3.) Channing Rice  298

Sarah Thompson can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com