Maine Lobster Boat Races

Winter Harbor 50th Anniversary Lobster Boat Races

 

Joy Francis and Family Tradition in one of the big boat races at Winter Harbor. Neither crossed the finish line first, but it was one of the more closely matched races. Fishermen's Voice photo

Winter Harbor’s 50th Anniversary lobster boat races went off well with some things surprises and some not. Not so surprising was the late start. Poetically noted over the radio an hour into the delay by an unknown observer (he knows who he is), “Why does this god damn race always have to start so late”. It did get started, well the first race was a false start, but from then on things went well.

Surprises were the great and many prizes. Chris “Budda” Beyers, Keith Young and many others pounded this project together for months to make it the special event it was. The prizes were too plentiful to mention them all. Sponsors came up with big ticket items such as a nearly new Chevy pick-up truck, an RE Thomas All In One shaft bearing, and a Carolina Skiff. Jimmy Patten at Nautilus Marine designed and made the trophies which were carved and polished black granite with machined brass, aluminum and gold. There were a lot of sponsors who contributed at many levels.

The wooden boat Wide Open in the lead at Winter Harbor. Two fast working lobster boats that like to race and do it well. Fishermen's Voice photo

 

Roger Kennedy’s Whisky Tango Foxtrot (left) and Fraid Knot at Winter Harbor just before Kennedy shifted his FPT 560HP, 6.7 liter into warp speed. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot overtook Thunderbolt for 1st place in this race. Fishermen's Voice photo

 

Andy Gove ran in several races and of course was a big winner. At 84 years of age he is breaking a record for that alone. If his health is as good as it appears to be he could become the most senior winningest racer for a long time.

Galen Alley blew a head gasket warming up Foolish Pleasure’s engine just minutes before race time. Thunderbolt did some fast gas high speed, high decibel runs. Little Girls, the 30 year old wood Calvin Beal built tore after Thunderbolt to take that race by a narrow margin. In a later race Little Girls was knocked out with an engine failure.

Roger Kennedy’s 560HP FPT powered 28’ Whisky Tango Foxtrot was struttin’ its stuff getting up on the water and flying past the lead boats to the finish line as he has in most the races he’s been in this year.

The top prize at the Winter Harbor Races was this 2012 Chevy Silverado. Standing next to his new truck is lobsterman Shane Ferris of Jonesport who won it. The truck with 26,000 miles on it is valued at $20,000. It was sponsored by Darlings Auto Mall, Peter Mullen Fisheries, Lunt Fisheries, D.C. Air, and Westmoreland Fisheries. Fishermen's Voice photo

 

Janice Elaine with Turn The Page in the background in a near photo finish. This was another of the closely matched good races at Winter Harbor. Fishermen's Voice photo

There were a few well matched races with bigger boats where several crossed the finish line within a few yards of each other. Among the high speed boats Glen Crawford’s Wild Wild West had a good day laying back before pouring on the whatever he runs to convert that engine into a bottle rocket.

The weather could not have been a bit better. Lots of boats rafted up and the Winter Harbor Lobster Festival in full swing on the hill above the harbor.

Dana Beal holding the prize he won at the Winter Harbor Races. It is an RE Thomas Marine Hardware All-In-One Intermediate Shaft Bearing/Self-Aligning Shaft Seal. Designed for soft mounted engines, especially when distance from the inside seal-to-shaft coupling is at a minimum. The 2 ½ shaft All-In-One, contributed by RE Thomas Marine Hardware, is valued at $2,049. Fishermen's Voice photo

 

The Merritt Brackett Races at Pemaquid

 

The Pemaquid lobster boat races are named in honor of one of the area’s gone-but-not-forgotten, well-respected citizens. Merritt Bracket was recalled recently by Ed Drisko as a “a man among men. A natural mechanic who rebuilt and redesigned lobster boat engines.” Called to solve an engine problem, he would arrive in his ever-present rubber boots, a 10-quart metal bucket of tools and that was all he needed to fix the engine in a boat. He was one of the most respected men who ever lived in this area, said Drisko.

The Pemaquid 2/3 of a mile long race course is somewhat shorter than most others. It was another great day of weather for racing and celebrating. The races are off Pemaquid Beach, site of one of the oldest European fishing settlements in North America.

 

 

Evolution in the foreground at Pemaquid, August 10. In the background Mojo Inc., Chris Peterson’s Holland 38' launched in June 2014. Powered by an FPT 560 N67, it’s got it’s ‘Mojo working here.’ Shot from Andy Johnson’s Whistin’ Dixie a Holland 40'. Mojo Inc. won this race by a narrow margin. Whistling Dixie won over Mojo Inc. the following week in the Portland Races. Fishermen's Voice photo