Maine fishermen are starting to think about racing. But then again, even though the calendar said it was April 8, Penobscot Bay through the Down East coastline received another couple of inches of snow last night.
It's no wonder would-be racers are confused. On one hand they want to gear up for racing with blue skies, warm weather and the shrill screaming of jacked-up engines — probably a couple hundred rpms from pushing a piston through a block — sending boats slamming down a race course somewhere in Maine.
Yet still the snow fell last night.
The confusion this brings about is summed up perfectly in the following recent post on the Fans of Maine Lobster Boat Racing Facebook page:
"Holy crap it's race season!
Watch out for icebergs!"
NF Art Director Laura Dobson adds a little Photoshop magic that allows us to imagine what Maine's lobster boat races would look like if snow is still falling this summer. Jon Johansen photoWell, not to worry because they say spring is on the way. Then again, Maine has had snowstorms in June and July so maybe this year racers will be scraping snow off the wheelhouse windows.
In any case, sun or snow, here's the race schedule for 2015. As you can see, the three races that were absent in 2014 — Friendship, Harpswell and Searsport — are back in the mix.
Boothbay —June 20
Rockland — June 21
Bass Harbor — June 28
Moosabec (Jonesport/Beals Island) — July 4
Searsport — July 11
Stonington —July 12
Friendship — July 19
Harpswell — July 26
Winter Harbor — Aug. 8
Long Island — Aug. 15
Portland — Aug. 16
Pemaquid — Aug. 16
As you can see, Portland and Pemaquid are holding races the same day. I believe there's an attempt to have Portland or Pemaquid hold races on another day.
On another racing note, at this year's Maine Fishermen's Forum three people were nominated to the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Hall of Fame.
• Osmond Beal was a longtime Beals Island boatbuilder who turned out several worthy racing boats, including the wooden 40-foot, 10-inch Corned Hake. Ivan Ray owned the boat, which left many lobster boats in its wake. Beal also raced the Shanna & Erick, an H&H 27 built from a Beal design.
• Bill Hallinan raced the Apparition 2, a 38-foot Young Brothers, and was dominant in his class through the 1990s. The Apparition 2 was listed as having a 650-hp engine.
• Glenn Holland is best known in lobster boat racing circles for designing the 32-foot Red Baron, named after the German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen. The Red Baron, mostly run by Holland's father Corliss, had many closely fought and sometimes bitterly contested races with Arvid, Alvin and Colby Young's the Sopwith Camel. But the Baron and those races helped put lobster boat racing on the map. Holland hasn't been involved with racing for several years, but this winter the Red Baron was back in his shop (Holland's Boat Shop, Belfast, Maine), so maybe Holland and the Baron are returning to the race circuit.
