6/26/2007 Penobsot Bay Paintball will be CLOSED Sunday July 1!!!

6/11/2007 Penobscot Bay Paintball passed the towns planning board to expand fourteen more acres to make it a 15 acre facility. The expansion will include FOUR woodsball fields coming in the near future. Each field will have a military background. There will be one field opening per year, with the last field "Fallujah" (urban assault course) being ready for the 2011 season. Stay posted for more details of the other upcoming fields!

PENOBSCOT BAY PAINTBALLS FIRST NEWSPAPER WRITE-UP!! 8/5/2006

Penobscot Bay Paintball aims to make its mark
Owner Smith is vet of Iraq war

By Steve Fuller

SEARSPORT - Wes Smith, owner of the recently opened Penobscot Bay Paintball field in Searsport, has been a busy man since he graduated from Searsport District High School in 2002.

Adam Lockhart reacts after taking a direct hit on the speedball field at Penobscot Bay Paintball on Mt. Ephraim Road in Searsport. The field celebrated its grand opening Sunday, Aug. 6. STEVE FULLER

He enlisted in the U.S. Army that October, and in February 2004 was sent to Iraq for a year-long tour of duty. Operating in the infamous Sunni Triangle, he was a member of the 4th Cavalry Regiments Echo Troop, which in turn was part of a larger brigade reconnaissance troop (BRT).

I was in reconnaissance, said Smith, when asked what his primary duties were in Iraq. We hunted down the guys that put IEDs [improvised explosive devices] in place.

Smith was also in the Fallujah area during November 2004, when the U.S. military launched a major offensive to reclaim that city. The fighting in and around Fallujah at that time was described by some military sources as the most intense urban combat seen by U.S. forces since Vietnam.

Concise and likely understated, Smiths own characterization of the time period seems to match that description. It was pretty big, he said.

Smith returned from Iraq in February of 2005, and finished up with the Army Sept. 30 of last year. The idea for starting the paintball field, he said, came up during a conversation about paintballing with his friend and high school classmate Neil Seekins this May.

The first time we played was in eighth grade, I think, back in 1998, said Smith. We started playing with slingshots. Wes said his father, Roger, ran a woodsball operation - paintball played in a wooded setting - from 2000 to 2002.

It was getting pretty popular, said Wes. Then all my buddies graduated and he stopped. Wes said his conversation with Seekins this spring convinced him to get back into it.

Owner Wes Smith takes aim at an unsuspecting Adam Lockhart (seen downrange) on the speedball field at Penobscot Bay Paintball on Mt. Ephraim Road in Searsport. The field celebrated its grand opening Sunday, Aug. 6. STEVE FULLER

Getting back into it, as it turned out, involved a number of steps. Wes said he initially had to go before the towns planning board and secure their approval for his proposed operation.

Once that was done, Wes traveled to Tennessee for a two-day class to earn certification in several categories, including basic airsmithing. He said that particular certification allows him to work on a paintball marker - the preferred term, Wes explains, among paintball aficionados for what an average person would otherwise call a paintball gun.

Wes said his certification, in turn, enabled him to secure insurance for his new business. That was the key in opening this field, because I couldnt do it without the insurance, he said.

The hardest part of opening Penobscot Bay Paintball, according to Wes, was getting the netting that surrounds the field properly secured. The netting is in place to try and keep all paintballs shot within the 75 by 100 field from getting out.

We had to make sure it wasnt blowing up, so that vehicles wouldnt get hit, Wes said. It took us three days to put the netting up.

On the field itself (which is considered a speedball field) are more than a dozen yellow and black inflatable Supairball bunkers (The best in the world, said Wes). Each of the bunkers takes about two and a half minutes to inflate with a leaf blower, and at the cost of $200 each, prompted Wes to create one steadfast rule - no metal cleats.

The closest field like this is an hour and a half away, said Wes. An added advantage, he said, is that we have all the equipment you need right here.

That rental equipment includes enough Tippmann Custom 98 markers and V-Force face masks for 25 people, as well as CO2 and high-pressure air for the markers. Wes sells two types of paintballs, and said that is one item that participants must purchase from him.

Wes said all players must sign a waiver before going on the field, and that anyone between the ages of 10 and 17 must have their parent or guardian sign the waiver for them.

It can leave welts and bruising, said Wes of getting hit with a paintball. He has a radar chronograph in place to measure the speed of the fired paintballs. Wes said his guns are designed to fire at 280 feet per second, which he said ensures safety for all participants.

Anything over 320 [feet per second] could break the lens [of the face mask], he explained.

Although this past Sunday was his first official day in business, Wes said he already has plans for next season if all goes well this year. He said one of his goals is to light the field for night games next summer, as well as expand the operation beyond the current speedball field.

If this season goes good, my father and I want to put another woodsball field in up back, said Wes.

Current hours of operation at Penobscot Bay Paintball (located at 141 Mt. Ephraim Road) are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment on weekdays. Wes said he needs a minimum of two hours advance notice to get the field set up, but welcomes any interested parties to call him at either his home (548-2972) or cell phone (461-0207).

This fall, Wes hopes to keep the field open through the middle of November, although he admits it will be difficult when he returns to taking classes at the University of Maine. If people are interested in paintballing during the week, however, Wes said he would likely be able to open the field up after 3 p.m. and allow them to play until dusk.

Wes said he is majoring in elementary education at UMaine, although he added he may soon be taking up a second course of study as well.

Ill probably minor in business management, he said with a chuckle.