The Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, along with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Keepers of Burnt Island Light, are holding a free public event on Burnt Island on Tuesday, July 7 from 1 to 5 p.m.. It is part of a kickoff event for BHYC’s adult and kids racing.

According to BHYC Sailing Director Chris Liberti, DMR scientists will be giving demonstrations, with one scientist talking about her experience as a diver for various research programs.

Another demonstration will be to collect data on lobsters like a fisherman; haul a ventless lobster trap from the dock at Burnt Island. Go through the same process that fishermen up and down the coast use to collect data on lobsters to inform science. Take the lobsters out of the trap, measure them, determine if they are male or female, what else do you notice about them, would they be legal to keep, band them, and enter the data into a tablet. Also, learn how to tell the different species of crabs apart and identify anything else the traps happen to contain.

The third demonstration will be “Mapping Maine’s seafloor habitats with an underwater robot: A live demonstration.”

“We will have the ROV set up on the R/V Maine connected to a monitor where people will be able to see what the ROV sees in real time as we explore the underwater habitats surrounding the Burnt Island pier. We have not taken the ROV out in this location before so it will be a surprise to all to see what’s going on down there,” said Liberti.

In addition, volunteers will be teaching functional splicing and decorative knotwork where folks can learn a new skill and/or make a turks head sailors bracelet or monkeys fist keychain. There will also be lawn games, island exploration, etc. out on the island. We will provide transportation by boat from BHYC, and this free event is open to all ages.