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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Lobster Boat Races



On a bright, sunny, classic Saturday morning on the Maine coast I took a ten minute ride up Route 1 to the town of Searsport to watch a traditional Maine summer event. Most of these lobster boats have been so modified that they are no longer practical or safe for lobstering. The boat in the picture was timed at 62.7 mph! Those aren't NASCAR speeds, but they rival NASCAR sounds. Another spectator next to me said, "Listen for when he adds the nitro." I didn't have to listen very carefully. Even a quarter mile away the roar of a 500 HP engine at full throttle is rather distinctive. I'm certain that most of the crowd were locals...most of whom knew someone on one or more of the boats. It wasn't one of those idyllic postcard scenes of lighthouses or loons, but it was another interesting piece of the kaleidoscope that is the Maine coast.

2 comments:

Dan & Ellen said...

The blog looks great keep up the good job Dan

Anonymous said...

Dad, your posts are getting more an more lyrical - like you've found your range. It's become more than a diary of what happened and evolved into a well-crafted chronicle of observations that no doubt has people wanting to visit the places and events you describe.