It was wet and a little chilly on Saturday, June 18, and Sunday, June 19 — then add a bunch of wind on Sunday – and it was typical weather for launching the 2023 Maine Lobster Boat Racing season.

The start was in Boothbay on June 18 and continued the next day in Rockland. Despite the weather, 38 boats showed up to race in Boothbay — one less than last year — and 33 in Rockland, one more than a year ago.

Throughout the racing season, which ends after 11 races on Aug. 20 in Portland, a race day is pretty much the same: 29 to 30 races over about a mile course, beginning with skiffs 16 feet and under with outboards up to 30 hp, followed by inboards, outboards or outdrives 31 to 90-hp, then 91-hp and up, followed by several classes of gasoline and diesel-powered workboats, based on boat length and horsepower.

At the end of the day, it’s the Gasoline and Diesel Free for Alls and concludes with the Fastest Lobster Boat Race.

This past weekend, Jeremy Beal’s Maria’s Nightmare II (a Wayne Beal 32 powered by a 1,000-hp Isotta) was the boat to beat on both days, says Jon Johansen, Maine Lobster Boat Association president. Maria’s Nightmare II’s fastest run on either day was in the Diesel Free For All at Boothbay when matched up against four other boats, including Andrew Taylor’s Blue Eyed Girl (Morgan Bay 38, 900-hp Scania) in 2nd place and Jeff Eaton’s La Belle Vita (Northern Bay 38, 815-hp FPT) in 3rd place. Maria’s Nightmare crossed the line first at 57.5 mph.

In an earlier race, Class L( 901 hp, 28 feet and over), Maria’s Nightmare unofficially hit 61 mph. 

“He came up the course and right at the end gave it to her,” says Johansen. It was an unofficial time because while Maria’s Nightmare showed 61 on its GPS, the officially timing monitor was “at such a bad angle, it didn’t record the speed at the end of the race.” While Maria’s Nightmare “didn’t have a problem winning everything,” says Johansen, the strange thing is Maria’s Nightmare didn’t show up for the last race of the day, Race #30, Fastest Working Lobster Boat. That was won by La Belle Vita at 40.2 mph.

The newest boat at the Boothbay races was Ray Lemieux’s Obsession, a Young Brothers 40 with a 1,000-hp Caterpillar that was launched in May after being lengthened to 42 feet and widened to 15 feet with 6-inch chines added at Little River Boatshop in Cutler.

In Diesel Class N, (40 feet and over; 751-hp and over), Obsession was up against Natalie E. (Libby 41, 1,000-ho FPT). It was one of the better races of the day, with three other boats involved. 

“Lemieux was after Natalie E, but just couldn’t catch him,” says Johansen. Natalie E. won at 38.5 mph. “That was pretty good speed for those boats that are that big and wide,” noted Johansen.

After Saturday’s races concluded, 16 boats headed to Rockland for the next day’s encounters. “There were really some good races,” in Rockland, says Johansen. One of those was Class E (336 to 435 hp, 24 to 35 feet) where out of a group of four boats, it came down to Randy Durkee’s Audrey May (Holland 32, 425 Cummins)  and Danny Eaton’s Destiny (Crowley 28, 420 Yanmar). At the end it was Audrey May winning at 39.4 mph.

Jeff Eaton’s La Belle Vita was one of the 16 boats that came to Rockland and it paid off for him in Diesel Class K (701 to 900 hp, 28 feet and over) when La Belle Vitae was matched against Nick Wiberg’s Witching Hour, which in a previous boat life had been Andy Gove’s Uncle’s UFO, a Northern Bay 36 with a 900-hp Mack. It was one of the fastest boats for nearly 20 years and Gove raced her until well into his mid-80s. He died in June 2020, at age 90, a year after he stopped fishing. He had written “The Life of a Maine Lobsterman; 82 Years On The Water.”

In the Class K race, La Belle Vitae won at 43 mph, but “it was close,” said Johansen. The two boats met again in the Diesel Free For All that was taken by Maria’s Nightmare II at 49.9 mph, with La Bella Vitae second and Witching Hour 4th behind Less Than Knot (Libby 34 with an Isotta), which Johansen says he hadn’t previously seen at the races.

After the last race of the day, the Fastest Lobster Boat race that Maria’s Nightmare won at 49 mph with La Bella Vita 2nd and Witching Hour 3rd, most of the boats headed home. But by that time it was gusting 25 to 30 mph, says Johansen, “and you did get beat up. It was blowing out of the Northwest, so headed Downeast, you were going right into it.” But that’s all part of lobster boat racing in Maine.

The next race is on June 25 in Bass Harbor, followed by Jonesport-Beals on July 1.

Check out the full race schedule here