A Day on a Working Lobster Boat

This summer I spent a couple of weeks in Maine, mostly on Mt. Desert Island, which is the home of Acadia National Park. On the first trip I took my son, and on the second I took my friend Bob Stephens. 

On both trips we hiked the islands of the Mt. Desert area, ate seafood, and I bought a painting by an artist named Henry Isaacs. It hangs in my guest room where I am writing this. It captures the blues of Maine’s summer sky, water, and late afternoon mountains.

The most memorable day was with Bob on Beals Island,  a tiny place connected to the main land by a good sized bridge, about an hour and a half north of Bangor.  One of our listeners Pam Libby, of Brewer, Maine invited us to spend the day on a lobster boat with her father Clint Libby and watch him work. Boy did I jump on this! I have only seen a lobsterman work at sea one time in my life, and Bob, being from the south, had never.

Clint has been married to his wife Leona for fifty years, and has been lobstering longer than that.

It was so fascinating to watch him haul the traps up, measure a lobster that might be too small (and throw back), put those rubber bands around the claws and then re-bait the trap and push it back into the water. It sinks to the bottom, and is attached to a small buoy with Clint’s special colors. Only he is allowed to haul that trap

I once asked another lobsterman what was stopping someone from hauling up someone else’s traps and stealing the lobsters. The lobsterman said, “Kinda hard to do with two broken arms.”  Lobster islands are very close-knit communities. Everyone knows everyone else, and watches out for each other.

Clint took us by a small rocky island that was covered with seals sunbathing. As we drew closer to them some slipped into the water, but most just stared at us, as we did them. What a sight.

Later that afternoon Clint and Pam invited Bob and me to Clint’s home overlooking the Beals Island harbor. Pam’s mom Leona made us a lobster feast including fresh island corn, potatoes, and topped it off with homemade blueberry pie!

It was one of the great days of my year, and Bob said it was the highlight of our trip.

I am so lucky to have a listener like Pam, who would go so out of her way to give me a day I will never forget. Beals Island is the real thing. No t-shirt shops, no post cards.  It is an island where people work hard, raise families, and in some lucky cases, stay married for a half-century.

Pam, by the way is a Longaberger Branch Leader, so if you need a basket this Christmas, get in touch with her at www.longaberger.com/pamlibby.

I have included a few pictures of our visit I hope you like.

Comments

[Lynele Rockwell]

Thank you for sharing your trip to Maine. The photos were spectacular. You looked so happy with the lighthouse in the back, on the boat. I understand why you are drawn to the area. Have you ever been to the beaches between Destin and Panama City? Seagrove, Santa Rosa Beach? These small towns still have the charm of going to the beach (warm weather and water also)! that reminds me of growing up in California and going to Refufio and Gaviota beaches just north of Santa Barbara and San Louis Obisbo/Pismo Beach as a child. I live in the south now and although I lived in New England seven years and visited Maine, NH, etc...I will always come back to Florida beaches as the best. Except, perhaps, the Sunshine Coast in Australia, where my mother is from (Brisbain) and I was fortunate enough to visit in 1988. As always, Bob, I enjoy listening to you and Sheri, and look forward to your postings. As a long time listener, you continue to bring entertainment and laughter to me every morning. Enjoy your life. Lynele

[dawn coliukos]

Bob, Maine is one of my favorite places to vacation. I felt you gave your listeners a great look into the lives of real working people. Lobstering is a very hard job and we get to enjoy the rewards. Thanks for bringing me back to maine. It holds great memories for me....Dawn one of your upstate NY listeners

[Christie]

My cousin owns a campground on Mount Desert, and I've always loved that area. Thanks for sharing your experience, the photos, and for calling to mind my own wonderful memories of time spent in northern Maine.

[Coleen "Libby" Prenda]

Hi Bob! I am the "other" Libby daughter of Clint and Leona...so glad you had the chance to experience Beals Island and the opportunity to go on the boat with my Dad. You were with one of the best fishermen in the area...no bias there! :) If you did not get the opportunity to experience the beautiful sunsets overlooking the water from their deck, you need to go back next summer and do that. I miss that view now that I am not in the area anymore.

I live in Virginia and work in Washington, D.C. If ever you want to take a tour of our Nation's Capitol and see the sites, let me know! There are no lobster boats here, but perhaps we could convince Mom and Dad to come down and bring the day's catch with them!

Coleen Prenda

[Jeanne]

Gosh Bob your trip sounds so wonderful. I am glad you had a great time. The picture of you in front of the lighthouse is very good. Thank you for sharing the sights of Maine.
Enjoy your show very much.

[Allison Mujica]

Thank-you for sharing your trip. What lovely pictures! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Now I want to go to Maine, too!

[Paula]

Hi Bob,
Wow! I really enjoyed your story of your vacation in Maine. It made me want to share mine. I live in Northeast Missouri and have just recently seen the ocean for the first time (in 43 yrs.)a few weeks ago. I visited Tybee Island near Savannah, GA. What a great vacation. I loved the ocean and got the biggest kick out of seeing the dolphins feeding behind the shrimp boats and also seeing the lighthouses, pelicans, crabs, and palm trees. Not too many of those in Missouri! I ate only seafood for the 5 days I was there! Savannah was a wonderful city, too. Your trip really made me think of mine so I just had to share it. Maybe next time I can go up to your beloved Maine. It's looks so inviting, too!

[Connie Tucker]

Hey, Bob, I can understand why your trip to Maine was so memorable. I live here in Maine, and I know what a special place it truly is. What a great thing to be able to go on a lobster boat for the day! My husband and I live on a lake in extreme northern Maine. We live in Unorganized Territory, T-16, R-4. That should give you an idea of how isolated we are here. We are 20 miles north of Caribou. We live on Madawaska Lake near Stockholm, Maine. Our lake has great fishing all year round (even ice fishing!) for landlocked salmon and trout. You can visit here any time, and we can show you a terrific time. We understand how much you'd love to have a cabin in the woods. Well, that's the kind of feel here. Just let me know when you want to visit us! BTW, My husband and I were the winners of the wine vacation in 2007. But that's another story... Take care, Connie Tucker

[Katrina Richards]

Bob,I loved this story about Maine. My husband and I had the pleasure of spending a week in Bar Harbor one summer a few years ago. Like you, we absolutely were drawn to the area. Being from Savannah, we had never been so far north and on a whim we pulled out a map and decided on Bar Harbor. We were rewarded with probably our best vacation ever. We had no idea what awaited us and we couldn't have been happier. We boated, hiked and ate, lobster, lobster, and more lobster. Thank you for sharing your experience, it makes us even more ready to head back.

[Amy]

I suppose I am a little late to be replying to this blog post. I'm a recent listener to the Bob and Sheri show though I only ever get to hear a brief 10 minute snippet before I get to work and have to turn off my radio. I've recently moved down to Florida but grew up in Maine right along the coast in a small town named Bath. Living down in Florida now, I start to miss Maine and how different it feels to be from there. In Maine, everyone knows someone who knows someone else. You can be sure to see someone you know if you go down to shop in Freeport or take the 45 minute drive (from Bath) to the Maine Mall in Portland (the closest mall). Maine is a state of beauty and peace. I miss being there, especially during the Holiday season and I loved reading your blog as it reminded me of what a wonderful state I am from.
Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful holiday season.

[Eight Women Dream]

Bob?
Are you there? Have you given up on blogging?

[CaptainZ]

Sounds like a great time.

Wonder if the lobster fisherman would like to trade a trip?

If you think there may be a chance of that, please put the lobster fisherman in touch with me.

Captain Z

[Amanda From Maine]

Bob,

I am always excited about when you get to Maine.

I can not believe that you were so close to where I live. Really close. You had to go through my town of Ellsworth to get to MDI.

I am so glad you had a great time. Hope I see you when you are here again.