Get ready for the sound of 40 to 50 lobster boats ready to race! Saturday, June 20, the lobster boat racing season kicks off in Boothbay Harbor and, with it, a lot of wake, at the Charlie Begin Memorial Lobster Boat Races. 

Racing starts at 10 a.m.

The registration table at Brown's Wharf on Atlantic Avenue (look for the ginormous lobsterman on your right) will have commemorative T-shirts and sweatshirts. Boat captains will be registering there at 9 a.m.

Race categories include gas classes based on length and cubic inches, diesel classes based on horsepower and length, a wooden boat race, gas and diesel free-for-alls, and four races just for Boothbay Region boats, including Fastest Working Lobster Boat.

A few winners from 2025: Robert Johnson of Harpswell/Miss Alva Elaine won Fastest Working Lobster Boat - speed: 48.7 mph and the Diesel Free For All race at 48.8 mph. In the Boothbay Fastest Working Lobster Boat category, it was Southporter Andrew Taylor and his Blue Eyed Girl. For the full list of last year's results, see https://www.boothbayregister.com/article/2025-lobster-boat-races/259313 

How many racers can be expected? Weather is fairly good indicator, but not always. Even during last year's early rain and overcast sky, 53 lobster boats competed. Jon Johansen, president of Maine Lobster Boat Racing, in an interview with the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper, noted competitors came from as far as Haverhill, Massachusetts and Cutler.

The race course runs in front of Tumbler Island toward the finish line at Maine State Aquarium. The best viewing is on the water. Or catch the action at Maine State Aquarium on McKown Point Road in West Boothbay Harbor. Other spots on land are at Brown's Wharf.

The first three places in all categories except Fastest Boat receive cash or gift cards. First place is $150, second is $100, and third is $50. Race winners make a pass by the Prize Float to see Ashley Lowery for these prizes. 

100% sponsor-funded with sponsors’ names printed on the back of each year’s commemorative shirts. The monies raised are used for the prizes and funding of the Charlie Begin Memorial Lobster Boat Races Scholarship. Each year, four graduating Boothbay Region High School seniors are selected for it. This year's recipients are Sophie White, Will Sledge, Aileigh Johnson and Keegan Murray.

After the races here, racing moves up the coast to Rockland on Father's Day, June 21. Other dates are Sunday, June 28, Bass Harbor Pier Lobster Boat Races, Tremont; July 4, Beals (Moosabec Reach); Sunday, July 12, Stonington; Sunday, July 19, Friendship; Sunday, July 26, Harpswell; Saturday, July 8, Winter Harbor; Aug. 9, the Merritt Brackett races, Pemaquid; Saturday, Aug. 15, Long Harbor races; Sunday, Aug. 16, the MS Harborfest Lobster Boat Races, Portland.