Maine Lobster Boat Racing season’s home stretch

The weekend of August 17 and 18 was the last complete weekend for Maine’s 2024 lobster boat racing season with races held at Long Island on Saturday. Then the boats ran about 6 miles to the West for Sunday’s races in Portland.

Forty-eight boats raced at Long Island, which was 7 more than last year. Normally this past weekend would have closed down Maine’s lobster boat racing season, but because the Winter Harbor races, which were scheduled for Saturday Aug. 10, were cancelled due to inclement weather, and rescheduled for Sunday Aug. 25, there is thus another race to go.

At Long Island 48 boats raced, which was 7 more than last year. Fortunately, it was decent weather, as opposed to 2023 when some boats encountered 10- to 12-foot seas when making the run to Long Island.

“This year’s “was real easy, no heavy wind or anything,” said Jon Johansen, president of Maine Lobster Boat Racing, who made the trip in his own boat from Searsport.

Most of the boats racing over the weekend hailed from nearby Casco Bay, but at least three came some 130 miles from the Moosabec Reach area of Jonesport and Beals Island. That would be Faith Melle, Natalie E and My Turn. Coming from the other direction was Ed Torosian’s MS. Rose from Hampton, New Hampshire.

As usual, Randy Durkee’s Black Diamond (Holland 32, 672 Chevy) and Steve Johnson’s Lynn Marie (Sisu 26, 632 Chevy) put on a show for the spectators. Actually, the show starts as soon as the two boats fire up their engines. These are high-powered gasoline engines and “they are loud,” says Johansen. “They spark a lot of interest because they make so much noise. You can hear them all over the bay.”

At Long Island, Lynn Marie took the first race matched up against Black Diamond. That was Gas Class E, (V8 over 525 cid, 28 feet and over, Turbos/Superchargers). Black Diamond was ahead but then slid back and Lynn Marie won at 35.6 mph. Their next encounter was the Gasoline Free For All, which Black Diamond took at 55.4 mph. But that was the last race of the weekend for Black Diamond. “They discovered they didn’t have oil pressure and opted not to race,” said Johansen.

A good race was between Gary Genthner’s Lil’ Lisa Marie (Mussel Ridge 28, 600-hp FPT) and Chris Smith’s Misty (Crowley Beal 33, 650-hp Scania) in Diesel Class I (551 to 700 hp, 28 to 35 feet). “That was close,” noted Johansen, adding that the two boats have been battling it out for much of the season and Smith had made changes to Misty’s power package that he thought would put him in first place, “but he fell just short,” with Lil’ Lisa Maria winning by half a boat length at 40 mph. In third place was Kyle Drapper’s Happy Hour.

The following day in Portland it started out foggy but once “we could see both ends of the line, we started,” said Johansen. Only 37 boats came to race. “Normally 45 to 50 are here, if we didn’t have the fog.”

Attempts were made as late as Sunday morning to fix Black Diamond’s oil problem, “but no oil was coming out,” said Johansen. Thus, Lynn Marie carried her dominance over from the previous day. “She was way out in front in all her races,” with a fastest time of 53.5 mph in Gasoline Class E.

The Diesel Free-For-All was a heated battle with nine boats starting the race. The action was intense, particularly between Mariena Beal’s My Turn (Wayne Beal 32, 500-hp Cummins), Dana Beal’s Natalie E. (Libby 41, 1,000-hp FPT) and Randy Durkee’s Audry May (Holland 32, 425-hp Cummins). Natalie E. took first at 42.8 mph, Audrey May was third and My Turn was fifth.

In Portland’s Diesel Free-For-All, the Natalie E leads My Turn (left) and Audrey May. Natalie E won at 42.8 mph. Jon Johansen photo.

What about those boats that traveled so far for a weekend of racing? Well, it seems to have been worth it, as most did very well. At Long Island, Faith Melle (Libby 34, 425-hp Cummins) took first in Diesel Class F (336 to 435 hp, 34 feet to 40 feet) at 37.9 mph, second in the Diesel Free-For-All, hitting 42 mph, and second in the Fastest Lobster Boat race. She also won Diesel Class F at Portland at 40.4 mph.

The Natalie E (Libby 41, 1,000-hp FPT) was the only boat in Class N(A) (40 feet and over, 751 to 1,000 hp) at both Long Island and Portland, where she won the Diesel Free-For-All at 42.8 mph. My Turn (Wayne Beal 32, 500-hp Cummins) took Diesel Class G (436 to 550 hp, 28 to 35 feet) at both Long Island and Portland with a fastest speed of 42.8 mph.

Coming from the other direction, the MS. Rose (Mitchell Cove 35, 410-hp Sisu) took second to Faith Melle in Diesel Class F (336 to 435hp, 34 feet to 40 feet) at Long Island, hitting 27 mph and third at Portland.

Part of lobster boat racing at many venues is fundraising. At Portland the fund raising is for student college scholarships for fishermen’s kids. The money is given out at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum. “Last year they gave to the scholarship fund at the Fishermen’s Forum, $7,500,” said Johansen, which represented two years of fundraising.

A tradition at the Portland lobster boat races is once the lobster boats have finished racing, it’s time to bring in the McAllister tugboats. This year there were four McAllister tugboats: McAllister Brothers, Roderick McAllister, Nancy McAllister, Andrew McAllister who churned up the bay as they came up the course. The tugs usually race each other twice.