Tag Archives: Jonesport
This Down East town isn’t enthusiastic about becoming a rocket launch site
A Maine rocket firm’s bid to fire rockets into space from Jonesport might have fizzled. The head of a Brunswick-based aerospace firm acknowledged that it looks increasingly unlikely his company will get local approval to launch rockets from an island off Jonesport,,, Blushift has been hoping to win local support to use Water Island, a small island roughly 1,500 feet long, to launch rockets up to 80 feet long into orbit every month or so. But the proposal has run into significant opposition in Jonesport and the neighboring town of Beals, which together support a large lobster fishing fleet. Many residents have said the launches could hurt the local fishing industry. >click to read< 08:38
There is Nothing Like a Lobsterboat Race
As a sports reporter, I’ve covered just about every big championship the sports world has to offer. But none come close to being as hardcore as the annual lobsterboat races in Jonesport. One weekend a year, fishermen and women, who usually use their boats to haul lobster traps, empty out their cabins, trick out their engines, and see how fast those babies can go. The reckless beauty of fishing vessels charging through the Atlantic takes your breath away. It quickens your pulse. How, you think, are these clunky boats going so insanely fast? By Charlotte Wilder >video, click to read< 09:36
Racing the past in Jonesport, Maine: 5 days aboard the world’s fastest lobster boats
The lobstermen who make up this strange party compete all summer long on a race circuit that takes them and their boats to 11 fishing communities up and down the Maine coast. A 26-foot boat really only needs a 250-horsepower engine, but in order to race, lobstermen and women trick out boats of that size with 350-500 horsepower and open up their throttles for little more than pride. Some of the vessels are over 40 feet long and pack over 1200 horsepower. The winnings are negligible; first place takes home $150, second place nets $100, and third wins $50. That’s nothing for people who pull in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year catching lobsters. The money doesn’t matter. The real prize is bragging rights. Video, click here to read the story 10:29
