The tradition of fishermen racing began not as a sport, but a matter of business. First in got best price for their haul. Wisconsin tool maker Ole Evinrude’s first outboard company was saved by export sales (5,000 orders in 1912) to Scandinavian fishermen. As advertised, his engines sold for “a dollar a pound,” and cost $62.00 when they arrived on the market in 1909. These days, you need to move the decimal point over and add a few more zeros, but one thing won’t change—fishermen will race. Caterpillar, John Deere, GM, Volvo-Penta, Cummins, SISU and Chevy have brought the racer’s edge to the fishing industry, and helped power the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association through another great season. Size Matters, 51, Underdog, Fairwinds, Askk’n, and the rebuilt Lorna R., were among the debut boats. Ernest Libby, Jr. worked hard last year to give us a contender to watch—Underdog—with an ultra light one-off hull, while Ellery Merchant worked out the mechanics. While at Winter Harbor, Merchant, as the new owner, continued to work closely with Nemie. As far as engines go, “I’m gonna stick with Chevy,” he says. Merchant plays down the rivalry aspects of the races. “Galen was just in for coffee,” he told me, right before Searsport. Merchant’s wife has taken a liking to racing. She’s already asking Ellery about plans for next season. She’s been very supportive. There is no doubt that this will be a busy winter for the guys at Main Street Auto in Jonesport when the focus turns to the 498 cubic inch V- 8 Chevy engine that clocked in (on radar) at 49.3 there on the 4th of July. Then there was the, by now legendary, Lorna R. crew, Galen and Rocky Alley, fighting the same tight deadlines, including the eleventh hour rebuild, done in record time. Richard Weaver, son Rick, and Mark Pelletier worked on it late into the night. Archie Alley relayed the engine back to Randy Kelley, re-installing it into the Lorna R., whose top speed was 53.6 at Moosabec; incredible for a 33-year-old wooden lobster boat.
In the dining room as Steve “Wild One” Johnson described past racing experiences with his trademark enthusiasm, cowboys fired shots on the big screen television behind him, adding epic dimension to his tale of a mammoth engine he’d put in a Repco ‘21. As he mimicked the sound effects,of how she sounded as they clutched her in, John Wayne took an Indian down behind him. Crystal Burch made the trip to Belfast with the Johnsons, accepting the award for Wild One. Nat Hildings of Spruce Head was there with the crew from Vinalhaven and Long Island. The 16-year-old races Not Much, and has done very well. He plans to lobster, as does Crystal Burch, but right now, all he wants to talk about is his plan to permanently mount his pirate flag on the bow of his skiff. Ira Guptill’s boys were there with him, and his Mystery Machine picked up the award for Diesel Class J. Won’t be long before they’re racing beside Nat and Crystal. Being included in racing events from a young age encourages future interest. Most of the winners at the banquet started going along with a grandfather, father, or uncle. Earlier in the season Billy Bob Faulkingham recalled racing with Arvid Faulkingham, who’d unload the blue barrels, the tools, and GO. Galen Alley brought his father’s boat back to Beals, restoring it so he and Rocky could race in the boat Riley Beal built with father Dick. At one point a tray of chocolate pudding came out and the waitress started swirling haloes of whipped cream on each. Keith Otis stood up and before you knew it, gained control of the Redi-Whip, drawing a slow, concentric circle around the whole thing. First Team, a Northern Bay ’36 driven by his son, Travis, and named for the First Calvary Division, Air/Mobile in which Keith served in Vietnam, won Diesel Class H. The Otises hail from Searsport, where the father and son team run a boat shop. David Grant’s Venom took home the prize for Class C Diesel. His 250 hp SISU engine pushed a lot of water to eliminate some hard core competition. As did Don Drisko’s Merganser,which closed out Diesel, Class B with some strong racing. The end of a race season is the start of planning for the next. Not only for racing contenders, but for event organizers. Will Stonington and Vinalhaven host races in 2007? Is NESN going to return and broadcast race footage? Which new boats will be ready? Should the committee consider shortening the track for the gasoline engine races? See you at the Fishermen’s Forum on March 1, 2 and 3, at the Samoset Resort, where the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association will reconvene to vote on issues affecting the 2007 season. |
