Commercial lobster fishing is work, but every summer in Maine, lobster fishermen and their boats gather regularly for a little fun and some friendly competition. Last Saturday, June 14, in Boothbay Harbor, the 2014 lobster boat race season got off to a fine start.

Coming on the heels of torrential rains and with an iffy forecast for the day, race organizer Marshall Farnham said he was particularly pleased with the strong turnout.

“We had 50 boats signed up,” Farnham said. “Overall, the day was a great success. We had good racing and good competition.”

Race fans filled the harbor in boats of all kinds and dotted the shoreline at the Maine DMR lab on McKown Point Road from mid-morning to early afternoon to watch some hotly disputed boat races. Between races, lobster boats rafted together for socializing.

Shawn Alley’s Little Girls, a 30-foot wooden skiff out of Jonesboro, stole the show. The Little Girls was the fastest boat of the day, logging speeds just under 50 mph and easily winning its races. Bruce Engert’s Thunderbolt might have given Little Girls some serious competition, but the Thunderbolt had engine trouble and sat out all but the last race.

Andrew Taylor’s Blue Eyed Girl at 36.5 mph edged out Rusty Brewer’s Look Out to win the title of Boothbay Harbor’s fastest working lobster boat. The biggest races of the day were the Diesel Class J, won by Blue Eyed Girl, Diesel Class M, won by Patrick Faulkinham’s Gramp’s Bird, and the Diesel Free For All, won by Roger Kennedy’s WTF.

Farnham said the Boothbay Harbor race committee appreciates the generous support of all its sponsors, too numerous to mention.

“We will be putting together a Facebook page for Boothbay Harbor lobster boat races, where we can show our appreciation to our sponsors,” Farnham said.

For a race day photo gallery, click here.