Tag Archives: lobster boat
Meet One of Maine’s Youngest Lobstermen
A month after Tommy was born, his parents strapped him into a car seat and began bringing him on Seth’s lobsterboat,Irish Lady. “He’s always gone with me,” Seth said. “I did the same with my grandfather and father.” As he grew older, Tommy took to the work intuitively. He was banding lobster claws by age two and has helped steer the boat since he could walk, standing first on a bait barrel, then on a five-gallon bucket, and now on a milk crate. As soon as he was eligible, at age 8, he received a lobstering license entitling him to 10 traps; shortly after, his parents bought him his own boat. Today, he’s one of 84 licensed lobstermen aged 10 and under, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:47
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 36′ Crowly Beal Lobster Boat, 375HP Volvo, Video
To review specifications, information, and 14 photos’, >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 21:00
Locally built addition to fishing fleet launched at Careys Bay
A Dunedin commercial fisher has launched his newest vessel, F/V Elodie, amid fanfare at Careys Bay. Damon Cooper has been fishing commercially for 30 years and added a third boat to his fleet on Saturday, with the boat launch. Otago Rock Lobster Industry Association executive officer Chanel Gardner said her husband, Mr Cooper, was committed to and very passionate about the fishing industry in Otago. The boat was built in Dunedin to contribute to the local fishing industry, she said. The boat will mainly fish rock lobster and blue cod and its more efficient systems would enable Mr Cooper to get the rock lobster to market in excellent shape. >click to read< 15:36
Lobster boat racing season kicks off, with race season schedule.
The arrival of summer brings lobster boat racing back to Maine. The season kicks off on Saturday, June 18, with races in Boothbay Harbor, followed by races in Rockland Harbor on Father’s Day. The June schedule continues with a race in Bass Harbor on Sunday, June 26, which has been held here for 14 years, and features lobster boats competing in various categories. Boats will race in categories based on the type of fuel they run on, length of boat, as well as size of engine. Boats that are under 24 feet have a category, and boats over that length are split into two categories depending on whether they run on gasoline or diesel. Includes 2022 schedule >click to read< 11:12
No incidents, but tension simmering as Lennox Island launches treaty fishery
“Everything went smooth and no trouble and it was a great day,” said Kyle Sark, captain of the lobster boat Way Point. The treaty fishers were able to set about 240 traps on Saturday, but plan to set 1,000 in what they say represents the “moderate livelihood” to which they are entitled. They said they have had trouble launching boats, because local boat-moving companies say non-Indigenous fishermen have threatened to boycott them. And with no understanding with DFO in place, it is raising tensions in the fishing community. PEIFA strongly advocates for peace on the water leaving any enforcement related to this unauthorized fishery to DFO and other authorities. >click to read< 15:19
Aspin Kemp unveiled new diesel-electric hybrid lobster boat model earlier this month
The federal government is giving Aspin Kemp & Associates $340,000 for the further development of a hybrid lobster fishing boat. The Montague-based engineering firm showcased its new diesel-electric hybrid model for the first time earlier this month at a boat show in Moncton. The vessel is designed for inshore lobster fishery. Aspin said the bigger boats often have requirements unique to each vessel that ultimately end up driving up costs. But the company is striving to “totally standardize” things for the lobster boats, which would help lower the price. Aspin Kemp has also been working with another company on a retrofit solution so that older boats can also get the hybrid system installed. >click to read< 13:57
RCMP investigating Mi’kmaq lobster boat tie-up line slashing allegation
The RCMP are opening a criminal investigation into a report that nine lobster fishing boats operated by Mi’kmaq fishers were purposely cut loose from a wharf Thursday in southwestern Nova Scotia. Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack has alleged the boats were cast adrift from their berths in Weymouth North, N.S., to damage the band’s property and intimidate its fishers. The Mounties said in an email today they are taking the complaint seriously and looking into the matter. video, >click to read< 11:47
A Day in the Life of Maine Lobsterman, Mike Sargent, in his own words.
“A lot of people think it’s like Deadliest Catch,” Mike Sargent says with a laugh. But his days are very different from the high-stakes drama of a reality show. Learn about what it takes to bring lobster from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to your plate with a day in the life of Sargent, in his own words. 3 am: I’ll get up and check the weather forecast. I’ll check the marine buoy data, see if there’s any inclement weather coming or going. If we’re all good to go, I will message my crew, say, “Yep, we’re set to go today.” They’re usually up and at ’em anyway, so I have them on standby. And then, I pack my lunch and head to the wharf. 4 am: I meet my crew down at the wharf,,, >click to read< 16:41
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40′ Young Brothers Lobster Boat, 650HP Mack E-7 Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 17 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:38
Lobsterman recounts fire that destroyed boat, forced crew to go overboard
Todd Simmons and Damon Crumett were returning late Tuesday afternoon from hauling traps off Port Clyde when the engine to the 38-foot lobster boat Prestige began “cutting out.” The 57-year-old Simmons of Port Clyde, who was captain of the Prestige, said he noticed one of the gauges showed that the engine was overheating. He started to go down to look at the engine and when he opened the door, smoke began billowing out of the boat. >click to read< 06:55
Maine: Lobster boat sinks after hitting a ledge in Naskeag Harbor, Captain taken to hospital
A 36-foot lobster boat, Turn the Page, sank off Naskeag Point on the sunny, breezy afternoon of August 26, according to a Department of Marine Resources statement. The vessel, captained by 45-year-old Carl Gray of Sedgwick, hit a ledge in Naskeag Harbor, according to the statement. The boat continued on until it eventually ran aground near the boat launch around 1:30 p.m., DMR said. That was two hours after low tide,,, One fisherman took Gray to the hospital, while other fishermen managed to tie the Turn the Page to the public pier at Naskeag Point. >photo gallery, click to read< 12:42
Falmouth beach closes after lobster boat spills diesel fuel
The northern beach at the Falmouth town landing is closed after a lobster boat spilled diesel fuel into the water Monday morning. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, a local lobsterman had beached the boat on purpose to do maintenance. When the tide came up, the boat didn’t. When the tide went back down, the boat tipped over and spilled the fuel. photo’s, >click to read< 15:08
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
Our latest lobster boat: Force of Nature
Completed in late April 2020, some 12 months after contracts were signed, Force of Nature is a 22.4 metre Southerly Designs monohull which, like other recent Dongara Marine fishing and pilot boat newbuilds, combines an aluminium hull with a composite superstructure. The new boat is an upgrade from Perham’s current vessel, the 17.1 metre Conquest 55 Natural Selection, which was built for him by Sea Chrome Marine in 1994 and which Perham is selling to make way for Force of Nature.,, “When Natural Selection was built it was pretty much the average size crayboat, perhaps slightly above average if anything. In the 1990s only a handful of new boats, maybe one in every 20, were over 70 feet. Now that’s the average size for new Australian high speed lobster boats, and in fact its more like 75 feet for the Western Australian fishery. photo’s, video, >click to read< 14:29
Lobster boat racing season is here, officially dedicated to Galen Alley
The Maine lobster boat racing season gets underway this weekend, but however the season goes, it just won’t be the same. Racing begins Saturday, June 15, in Boothbay Harbor and moves up to Penobscot Bay on Sunday, June 16, but two of the most iconic figures in Maine lobster boat racing — Galen Alley and his race boat Foolish Pleasure — will be missing. >click to read<11:48
2011 Stonington Lobster Boat Races (Foolish Pleasure) Fastest Boat Afloat – >click to watch<
Remembering Galen Alley of FOOLISH PLEASURE – JONESPORT – There are a number of names that come to mind when a discussion takes place on who had a major influence on Maine lobster boat racing over the years. Names such as Gus Alley; Benny Beal; Calvin Beal, Jr.; Isaac Beal; Merle Beal; Jim Clemons; Glen Crawford; Richard Duffy; Sid Eaton; Andrew Gove; Bill Hallinan; Corliss and Glenn Holland; Andy Johnson; Steve Johnson; Freddy Lenfesty; Alfred Osgood; Jim Preston; Lewis Stuart; and the Young Brothers (Arvin, Arvid and Colby) to name a few. In recent years one name that has been talked about the most is Galen Alley. >click to read<(must read!)
Lobster boat slams into Sustainable Marine Energy tidal platform at Grand Passage
Charles Comeau was steaming the P’tit Charles II out of Grand Passage near dawn on Wednesday for one of the last hauls of the season. “I didn’t see it before the last 10 or 20 seconds but it was too late,” Comeau said Thursday. Directly in front of him was a tidal generating platform. He hit it at nearly 10 knots, or 18 km/h, and brought up solid. Comeau was slammed against the boat’s dash and his crewman was tossed onto the deck. “We’re lucky nobody got seriously hurt,” said the captain of 35 years.,,, He’s now calling for better lighting on the Sustainable Marine Energy tidal platform. >click to read<08:36
Life on a rock lobster boat
Starting in the dark, long days in isolation, and repetitive physical labour. Sounds like farming, but it’s actually the life of a rock lobster fisherman. It is 3:15am, cold and dark, and Colin and Brodi Milstead are headed into the Southern Ocean. The father-and-son team are aboard Brodi Milstead’s boat, Impact, at the Robe marina in South Australia. It is a simple vessel, 53-feet long. Off the side hangs a pulley style machinewhich will be used to lift out the pots of red gold — the treasure being southern zone rock lobsters. click here to read the story 11:38
Years of high lobster landings spark resurgence in Maine’s boat building industry
A lobsterman’s biggest expense is the boat. Analysts say Maine’s boat-building industry has made a remarkable recovery since it bottomed out during the Great Recession of 2008, when many of the state’s boat builders, including Young Brothers Boats of Corea, decided to get out of the business. Inside Mike Light’s boat shop in Steuben, a 44-foot Calvin Beal lobster boat is getting a major face-lift that its owner hopes will keep him fishing for another 6-10 years. The seas take a toll on these hardworking vessels, and when the time comes for repairs, Light says, some fishermen are choosing to upgrade. click here to read the story 21:00
Teacher finds the lobster shift is a class by itself – my first summer job on a lobster boat
Dana McIntyre is a smart man. As I hung my arms high on the railing atop the stern of Island Lady, his lobster boat, leaning toward the expanse of Middle Bay in Harpswell as we sped from one string of traps to another, he said: “If I had your job as a high school teacher, talking and listening to students, parents, teachers and administrators nonstop for 10 months, I would not be starved for conversation in the summertime, either.” Captain Dana had nailed it. I love the idea of not talking during summer vacation, although it never works out that way. Dana knew how to get me yapping while taking care of business at my first summer job on a lobster boat – 30 years after buying a house less than 2 miles from Potts Harbor, at the end of a skinny 13-mile peninsula we call home. click here to read the story 10:06
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
Warren Maine man admits to helping sink lobster boat
A 21-year-old Warren man was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 26, to three months in jail for his role in the sinking of a lobster boat off St. George last summer. Devin Meklin pleaded guilty in Knox County Unified Court to aggravated criminal mischief and theft in connection to the Sept. 1 sinking of the 36-foot lobster boat Oracle owned by Joshua Hupper of St. George. Meklin was one of three people charged in the case. According to investigators, 47-year-old Alan B. Norwood Jr., a St. George lobsterman, paid his sternman, Vincent Hilt, 22, of Vinalhaven, $500 to sink Hupper’s boat. Norwood and Hilt have both pleaded not guilty to criminal charges. Norwood is charged with felony aggravated criminal mischief. Hilt is charged with felony criminal mischief and theft. Read the story here 15:52
Lobster Boat Passes from One Generation to the Next in Friendship
A lobster boat with a long history of plying the waters around the Friendship peninsula will stay in the fishing community, changing hands from one generation to another, thanks to a generous donation. Bill Ambrose, of North Yarmouth, the boat’s previous owner and a frequent visitor to his family’s cottage in Friendship, wanted to pass his historic fishing vessel, Caroline, on to a young lobsterman. Bill Ambrose passed away in September 2015 at the age of 77, from pancreatic cancer. Prior to his passing, he met Taylah Reed, a freshman at Medomak Valley High School, through Reed’s grandfather, Henry Thompson Sr. Read the rest here 14:36
Massachusetts Man jumps into water after lobster boat catches fire
A man operating a lobster vessel off Crane Beach in Ipswich was uninjured after he jumped into the water when his boat caught fire Friday morning, the Coast Guard said. The unidentified man’s boat, the 1977 28-foot wood-hulled Dawn Breaker, caught fire at 9:30 a.m. for reasons still under investigation, Coast Guard spokesman Robb Ruddell said. The man tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher but jumped into the water after it worsened, he said. Read the rest here 12:05
Lobster boat strikes the stern of schooner Lazy Jack, a 48-foot tourist and charter boat based out of Boothbay Harbor.
No one was hurt when a 48-foot tourist schooner was struck by a lobster boat Wednesday afternoon near Squirrel Island in Boothbay Harbor. The Lazy Jack, a wooden sailboat that operates out of Boothbay Harbor, sent out a distress call about 1:06 p.m. Wednesday, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kurt Hein. The schooner was struck in the stern and sustained extensive damage, but was able to limp back to port with a Coast Guard escort, Hein said. Several people were evacuated from the schooner onto a nearby commercial vessel that heard the distress call,,, Read the rest here 16:21
Lobster boat catches fire in Northeast Harbor
The owner was on the boat at the time but was not injured, according to the local fire chief. The extent of damage to the boat was not clear, Chief Michael Bender said Thursday, but it was still floating and there was no visible damage on the boat’s exterior when firefighters got the flames under control. The boat, Wave Guide, was towed over to the public dock by another fishing boat, Crazy Water, to make the response effort easier, Bender said. Read the rest here 21:20
Vinalhaven Me – Father, son swim to safety after lobster boat Midnight Rider goes up in flames
A father and son were forced to swim a few hundred yards to shore after a swiftly moving fire engulfed their vessel. David Anthony and son Blake Anthony were resting Tuesday afternoon after the ordeal. Vinalhaven Fire Chief Marc Candage said the two men were fortunate to have survived swimming a long distance in such cold waters. The water temperature was about 43 degrees on Tuesday. Read the rest here 20:05
