GORHAM – Members of Gorham’s Boy Scout Troop 73 have quite a story to tell classmates when school starts next week – a harrowing tale of a Scout leader and his son, dumped from their canoe into rapids on the Allagash River.

“It happened in a heartbeat,” Chuck Bellantoni said about the canoe capsize he and his son, Ben, survived during the troop’s eight-day wilderness expedition. News of the frightening June incident surfaced during a troop barbecue meeting on Monday.

Stranded in mid-river, the Bellantonis climbed onto a rock until help arrived.

“Water was roaring past,” Bellantoni said.

True to their motto “Be Prepared,” other Scouts and leaders in canoes went to the rescue.

The incident occurred in June. A contingent of 16 Scouts and adult leaders from the Gorham troop undertook the challenge of canoeing and camping out along the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. The remote northern Maine wilderness is inhabited by wildlife like moose, bear and coyotes.

Families in Gorham were left without even cell phone contact because cell towers were out of reach from the wilderness.

“I was very worried,” Shannon McShane, whose son and husband were on the adventure, said this week at the Scouts’ barbecue.

But, the troop had prepared months for the adventure before embarking on the wilderness trip. Assistant Scout Master Tom Bahun said they had practiced canoeing on the Presumpscot and Saco rivers. A parent, Mark McShane, taught the group canoeing skills.

The group left First Parish Congregational Church, which sponsors the troop, in the early morning hours of June 15. Later that afternoon, they reached the upstate location, Indian Stream, where they launched their adventure of paddling 100 miles on rivers and lakes.

On the third day out, raging river waters overturned the canoe of Chuck Bellantoni and his 12-year old son, Ben.

“Ben and Chuck Bellantoni tipped over on Chase Rapids, which is part of the Allagash River,” Bahun said this week. “Chase Rapids is the most taxing stretch of water on the Allagash extending from Churchill Dam to Umsaskis Lake. This was a 9-mile course through winding, rocky, class II rips with white water and was one of the high points of our trip, and certainly one of the most wet points for some.”

After their canoe upset, the Bellantonis found refuge on ledges behind their marooned canoe.

“(The) rocks were slippery,” Chuck Bellantoni said.

“That canoe was pinned” sideways against the rocks by the rushing water, Bahun said.

Bahun said the incident occurred in the middle of the river, about 60 feet from either shoreline.

Bahun said the Bellantonis had tried to “pull and tug” their canoe off the boulder, but the effort was futile.

Scouts had learned during canoeing practice and canoeing merit badge lessons “extracting a pinned canoe is not an exact science,” Bahun said. “ Each situation and location is unique, and there is no standard practice that is guaranteed to work in all cases.”

Bahun said more manpower was needed “quickly, before the force of the river damaged their canoe.”

“Everyone pitched in to help us,” Chuck Bellantoni said.

Bahun said Ken Light and his son, Tommy, navigated their way to the scene.

“Ken and Tommy Light were just upstream and were able to carefully make their way alongside and then behind the boulder,” Bahun said. “With the help of Ben and Chuck, they tied off their canoe in calmer water behind the boulder and Ken got out.”

“Using a two-way radio, Ken called the others downstream for additional help,” Bahun said.

Bahun and his son, Dan Bahun, were able to return up river by “aggressively paddling” their canoe against the river flow.

“Ken got in the water at one end of the canoe to push and lift and all the others pulled and attempted to pivot the canoe,” Bahun said. “It took quite some time and physical force by all, but eventually we were able to gain some mechanical advantage by rocking and pivoting the canoe inch by inch off the boulder.

“There was a brief moment of fear when my left leg got stuck between a rock and the canoe, but I was fortunately able to release it without injury,” he said.

“Once the Bellantonis’ canoe was positioned in calm water behind the boulder, we bailed out the water and Chuck and Ben got back in and finished Chase Rapids without incident.”

Debbie Bellantoni, Chuck’s wife, didn’t learn of the canoe incident until sometime afterward.

“I was relieved they were all safe and sound,” Debbie Bellantoni said on Monday.

Shannon McShane said the Scouts had a great time. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.

Teddy Lockman, a Gorham High School freshman, said he enjoyed the canoeing and talking with friends. “The whole experience was great,” Lockman said.

The trip afforded scouts an opportunity to view wildlife. Mark McShane, an eighth-grade student at Gorham Middle School, spotted several moose. “One was almost close enough to pet it,” McShane said.

Dan Bahun, a University of Southern Maine freshman, said he was 30 feet from a bear cub and one night a moose feeding in the water was so close he heard it from his tent.

Tommy Light, seventh-grader at Gorham Middle School, said besides moose he saw bald eagles, numerous loons and a pair of baby coyotes. Light said the group caught trout and chubs when they had time to fish.

“The sunsets were cool,” Light said.

The group ate well on the trip, as they had packed frozen chicken, marinated steaks, spaghetti and even pizza in coolers. They cooked food in a reflector oven set up beside campfires. Light, who turned 12 on the trip, even got cupcakes for his birthday.

Mike Nault, a parent and a Gorham police sergeant, was in charge of food.

“He did a superb job,” Bahun said.

The Scouts also earned recognition from rangers for a community service project for the Maine Department of Conservation. They removed roots and other debris from a stoned-up well that was part of a long-gone farm.

“Under the direction of Ranger Steve Day, the boys removed roots and debris from an old well at the Lost Popple Campsite,” Tom Bahun said.

The wilderness experience proved educational.

“They learned so much on the trip it was incredible,” the elder Mark McShane said.

And the adults enjoyed the trip, too. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Nault said.

The troop thanked those who made the trip possible. They include Cabela’s of Scarborough, Dr. Russell Collett of Gorham, Gorham Flag Center, Gorham Historical Society, Gorham House of Pizza, Gorham Lions Club, Gorham Recreation Department, Gorham Sand & Gravel, Gorham Subway, Harmony Lodge, Hansen’s Well Drilling, Johnson & Jordan Mechanical Contractors, Key Bank-Gorham, David Lockman of Vassalboro, Moody’s Collision Center, Norway Savings Bank-Gorham; Wagner Forest Management and Wyman’s Auto Body.

Gorham Boy Scout Troop 73 tackles the Allagash Wilderness Waterway canoe adventure.Gorham Scouts in Troop 73 recite the Boy Scout oath on Monday at a barbecue meeting highlighting the troop’s wilderness trip. Pictured, from left in front row, are Ben Bellantoni, Mark McShane, Ben Nault, Jesse Southard, Tommy Light and Riley Campbell. Back row, Parker Lane, left, and Teddy Lockman.