Beautiful fall weather, great barbecue and the excitement of dragon boat races on the waterfront all added up to one of the most successful Smoke on the Water barbecue festivals in the event’s history.

Rotarians estimated Monday that the event raised about $25,000, more than twice what was raised last year, and in fact, may be a SOTW record. All proceeds benefit local programs and non-profits, in addition to funding Rotary scholarships, according to Pam Anderson, Rotarian and SOTW organizer.

This year’s success can be attributed to a confluence of factors, said Washington (noon) Rotarian and certified barbecue judge Spencer Stanley. The weather, increased sponsorship, as well as the donation of all 33 pigs by Smithfield, which cut down on a lot festival overhead, meant

The donated pigs did not go to waste, according to Stanley, who was one of the team of official SOTW judges. Barbecue was judged in two categories: traditional, meaning wood or charcoal is used in cooking; and those using gas grills. Stanley said traditional cooking is the more difficult method, but one contestant stood out as this year’s winner: Lee Meeks, of Newport and son of barbecue competition legend Charlie Meeks.

“I don’t know how you could cook a pig any better than that,” Stanley said. “He won hands down.”

Second, third and fourth place in the traditional category went to Justin Boyd (Pinetown), Philip Weeks (Clayton) and Doug Boyd (Pinetown), respectively, while in the gas competition, Ernest Twisdale (Roanoke Rapids) took first, Charlie Meeks (Newport), second, Ryan Murphy (LaGrange), third, and Bruce Daniels (Roanoke Rapids), fourth.

Steve Fuch, of Washington, won first place in the Chili Cook Off. Second place when to Robert Radford(LaGrange) and third to Leola Dorsey (Washington).

Food wasn’t the only competition happening on the waterfront Saturday: in the showmanship category, in which barbecue competitors are judged for how they dress up their cooking area and tent, Wesley Bowers, of Washington, took the prize.

The second annual dragon boat festival, sponsored by environmental advocacy organization Sound Rivers, drew 15 teams and 350 participants, which represents three times the number of the inaugural festival’s teams and racers, according to Sound Rivers program director Matt Butler.

In addition to local teams, dragon boat racers from across North Carolina came to pit their skills against one another in the races that feature 20 paddlers per dragon boat, a pilot in the stern and another team member calling cadence with the beat of a drum. Butler said people were most surprised by the broad range of dragon boaters going head to head in the heats: middle and high school kids, U.S. military, health care workers, environmentalists and Beaufort County first responders among them.

“It was very much a diverse group — and it shows that anyone can do it. It was pretty cool to see that,” Butler said.

It was a professional team out of Charlotte, the Charlotte Fury, that narrowly took first place from a group of young Marines from Camp Lejeune. Last year’s champions, the Riverside Knights, a group of high school students from Riverside High School in Williamston, took third place, while Vidant Beaufort Hospital employees on The Winning Crew won fourth overall.

Based on comments from dragon boaters paddling the Pamlico River for the first time, Butler said the sheltered water and a no wake zone make for ideal race conditions.

“They loved the venue,” Butler said of the professionals, the Charlotte Fury, a team that participates in 10 to 12 races a year. “They commented that this was one of the best venues they’ve been to.”

Butler said the ultimate goal is to get Washington’s dragon boat festival on the map as a sanctioned event, which will draw even more teams to the waterfront.

“We’re working toward it. I’m not sure if that’s going to happen next year, but we’re definitely working in that direction,” Butler said.