Maine’s coast offers many opportunities to get up close and personal with a variety of sea life. To keep it simple, a walk on the beach and an exploration of tide pools will turn up crabs, sea snails and anemones.
A visit to the Maine State Aquarium offers more options. Located on the water in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the aquarium is operated by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The main gallery resembles the rocky coast of Maine. A collection of regional fish and invertebrates can be seen hidden within the granite-like cliffs. The aquarium features extraordinary lobsters of all sizes and colors and colorful marine life. A special attraction is the 20 foot long elevated touch tank that houses a multitude of invertebrates. Feel the spiny skin of a sea star or sea urchin and get squirted by a sea cucumber or scallop. Watch the moon snail pull in its enormous “gooey” foot and be fascinated by the sea star retracting its stomach.
Photo Courtesy of Maine State Aquarium
Photo Courtesy of Maine State Aquarium
Photo Courtesy of Maine State Aquarium
Photo Courtesy of Diver Ed
Photo Courtesy of Diver Ed
Photo Courtesy of Diver Ed
To get an even more “real ocean” experience, take a “dive-in” theater cruise. Diver Ed’s Dive-In Theater is a two- or two-and-a-half-hour scenic boat ride out into Frenchman Bay in Acadia National Park, where Diver Ed and his sidekick “Mini Ed” dive down to the ocean floor with specially equipped video and sound equipment, allowing you to see and hear the ocean floor in real time from the comfort of the deck.
At the end of the dive, Ed & Mini Ed return to the boat – and so do the creatures! Touch tanks allow you to observe, handle – and sometimes even kiss – these strange and mysterious beings before they are returned safely to the sea. You will be amazed at the colors, the textures and the variety of animal life beneath the waves.
In Stonington, you can bring your children to the Penobscot East Resource Center. In the permanent public education and exhibit space, children can learn about the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and check the Touch Tank that brings marine life to the Center for all to see. The Downeast Fisheries Center is staffed Sunday through Friday from 10am – 4pm.
The story of coastal Maine is the story of ships of all sizes, and across Maine there are schools that teach the art of boat building. Take a class or just come by one of the schools to see how it is done.
Photo by Dick Leighton
Located in the tiny coastal town of Brooklin, the WoodenBoat School is an extension of WoodenBoat magazine. This well-known boat building and sailing institution has provided “access to experience” for thousands of people in construction, maintenance, repair, design, seamanship, metal working, canvas work, photography, and other related craft. Emphasizing “hands-on” learning in a relaxed setting, the WoodenBoat School is a meeting ground where folks of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels can gather to meet, live, and work among others who share similar interests.
In Rockland, at The Apprenticeshop the core traditional boat building programs include the 2-year Apprenticeship Program, an intensive experience designed to teach all aspects of traditional wooden boat building; the 12-week Small Boatbuilding Program, a shorter course designed to give participants an understanding of basic traditional boat building; and the Extended/Advanced Intensive Program for those with previous woodworking or boat building experience.
The Carpenter’s Boat Shop in Bristol takes a slightly different approach. It is an open and affirming intentional community designed around a nine month apprenticeship program committed to traditional wooden boat building, seamanship, and service. The Carpenter’s Boat Shop has provided a safe harbor for people from around the country who are navigating the seas of transition from a variety of life circumstances.
The Landing School in Arundel focuses on preparing for careers in the marine industry as practical designers, builders and systems technicians, whether working professionally on today’s vessels, adapting to the industry’s evolving technology while imagining and building the boats of the future. To maintain your own boat, to restore a boat, do woodworking around your home, to build your own fine furniture, the skills offered at The Landing School can follow you home.
One of Maine’s most significant maritime traditions also involves a favorite Maine pastime: eating lobster! Sitting down to enjoy the delicacy is definitely the end goal, however it’s also important to take time to understand how Maine’s signature seafood item gets from the water to the table. Before donning the bib, cracking the claws and dipping the tail into the drawn butter, consider several ways of taking the time to understand the evolution of the iconic Maine lobster.
CHECK OUT THE (ART-Y) FACTS
Maine Maritime Museum Lobster Exhibit
There are a number of museums in Maine that have exhibits, collections and activities dedicated specifically to the Maine lobster. Visit the recently opened Lobstering & the Maine Coast at the Maine Maritime Museum, the largest permanent exhibit that tells the authentic story of Maine’s most iconic fishery. When you’re on Islesford, head to Boats and Buoys, Lobstering on Little Cranberry Island at the Islesford Historical Museum and check out this community-curated exhibit that features imagery and hands-on activities to celebrate the men and women who have fished the waters around Little Cranberry Island for generations. And if you’re island hopping, you can go over to the Swan’s Island Lobster & Marine Museum to experience how, through extensive preservation work, brothers Theodore and Galen Turner allow visitors access to antique equipment, old time fishing techniques, photographs, navigational tools in order to learn the story of commercial fishing in Swan’s Island, Maine.
GET EDUCATED
Photo Courtesy of Maine State Aquarium
Learn how the humble lobster began as bait and even prison food before it eventually made its way to a highly sought-out Maine delicacy. The Downeast Fisheries Trail site provides an in-depth and informative article on the history and science of lobstering, and how finally in the 1800s the commercial industry started to flourish and lobster was on its way to being an economically important resource and high end food. The Lobster Issue of the Maine Thing Quarterly gives readers a plethora of lobster facts, insight into a day in the life of a lobster fisherman, information on the long-standing Maine sea-to-table movement and, of course, how/where to eat our favorite crustaceans. And just when you thought you knew all there was to know about Maine lobster, the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative offers a vast collection of resources and information on the iconic Maine sea creature including where to buy and how to cook and eat a Maine lobster.
Video Courtesy of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
BEFORE YOU EAT THE ROLL,
SEE WHERE THE LOBSTER CAME FROM
Lobstermen at work | Monhegan Island, ME (Photo Courtesy of Thierry Bonneville)
A number of lobster fisherman/woman offer boat tours leaving from Bar Harbor, Portland, and Boothbay Harbor, among other ports. Before lunch or dinner, get out and see first hand how lobstering is done and even experience hauling traps right out of the water—talk about doing something of the beaten path! And since you worked so hard for your lunch or dinner, you’ll be more than ready to sample some fresh lobster–the hardest part will be deciding where to dine or what recipe to follow. Maine has a seemingly unending selection of places to get lobster, from the “best” or “most authentic” shacks to fine dining restaurants totraditional community beach bakes. You could also, of course, make your own lobster roll…
WHAT WE DO:
ENJOY LOBSTER EVENTS ALL YEAR, EVERY YEAR
Succulent Maine lobsters! Photo Courtesy of Thierry Bonneville
Every year in Coastal Maine there are year round, annual, and unique events and activities that center around the theme of lobster. For example, every year from June to August, the Maine Lobster Boat Races not only showcase participants’ sailing and boating talents, but spectators also really get into the spirit too as they cheer on their favorite boat. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Lobster Bicycle Ride has been circling the state since 2002—the routes vary from 15 to 100 miles and follow winding, country lanes and breathtaking rockbound coast; Bicycling Magazine recently recognized the century route as one of the TOP TEN in the country. Head to Rockland the very end of July to the first weekend in August—like thousands of attendees have since 1947—for the Maine Lobster Festival, a nationally and internationally recognized event and the ultimate festival for lobster aficionados!
Wiscasset was a prosperous seaport in the late 18th century, filled with sailing ships and international commerce that supported a sophisticated social scene. Wiscasset ships brought cargos of lumber, fish and fur to Europe returning with manufactured goods and accoutrements for the fine mansions in town. The smell of tar and the sounds of the docks filled the air. Everyone made their living from shipping and the businesses that supported it, until it all abruptly stopped with Jefferson’s Embargo of 1807.
Trade revived after the War of 1812 ended, but the world of international trade had moved on. In the 1890s, Wiscasset was rejuvenated by an influx of wealthy families looking for a summer home in a quaint New England village. They were looking for a place of cool and quiet charm on the water, where cars, telephones and other modern distractions were slow to take root. These families bought and preserved the large historic homes we see today.
Photo of Castle Tucker Courtesy of Historic New England
One of the best perspectives of Maine is from the water—this vantage point offers visitors views of coves, islands and harbors, all while taking in Maine’s timeless beauty and getting a sense of its seagoing history. From the on-the-water perspective, you’ll see many of Maine’s charming ports, observe animals such as seals, porpoises, and osprey, learn about the history of the region, and have unique access to seaport villages.
In late spring, summer and early fall, there are a number companies offering many ways to enjoy a bay or harbor cruise with departure options up and down the coast, from Boothbay to Bar Harbor, Camden to Castine. There are also a variety of vessels to choose from, including windjammers to lobster boats to a 1934 motor yacht similar to Hemingway’s beloved “Pilar”.
If you’re a hopeless romantic misplaced in this century, now’s your chance to experience the salty life of the 1800s. More than a dozen 19th-century-style tall ships in mid-coast Maine are ready to whisk you back to a simpler time before televisions, refrigerators, phones and faxes. You’ll sail aboard majestic two- and three-masted coasting ships that once freighted granite, timber and hay or aboard fishing schooners that supplied mainstream America with cod, swordfish and oysters.
(Top banner photograph: Schooner Heritage by Fred LeBlanc)
Departing from Camden or Rockland, you’ll sail for up to a week amid glorious islands, across sparkling bays and around lighthouse-crested fingers of the rocky coast. Like the mariners of yesteryear, your captain relies on the wind and tide for propulsion, and itineraries are cast to the wind.
I love mud between my toes on a hot summer day, at the edge of the sea, pants rolled up above the knees. I love being a child again, up to the elbows and ankles in mud. I’m digging for clams to steam for tonight’s supper on the beach—although you don’t have to dig in the mud with your bare hands, like I do!
Most people wear rubber gloves and boots and dig clams with a 4-tined rake called a hoe. My father used one of these, and a wooden slatted basket called a roller. Digging clams was his main income during good weather, along with raking blueberries.
The Boothbay Sea and Science Center is a community sailing and science education center offering affordable access to waterfront activities for mid-coast youth, adults, and visitors through unique sailing programs and innovative experiential learning activities. The organization’s mission is to advance recreational sailing experiences and the study of ocean sciences by minimizing economic and physical obstacles, and developing independence, self-confidence, teamwork and volunteerism among its students. Last summer the center successfully piloted community sailing programs for both teens (the Mainsail program) and youngsters (the Mizzen program).
When people think of Maine, they tend to think of lobsters. The lobstering industry has always been a key component of Maine’s economy, dating back to the 1800s. Today, the fishery employs over 5,900 licensed lobster harvesters and is a multimillion dollar industry that supports a number of coastal villages throughout the state. Lobster is a featured component of many recipes enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, but have you ever wondered where those lobsters come from or what it takes to get them from the seafloor to your table? Now you have an opportunity to find out as you take part in one of the many lobster hauling excursions available in the Boothbay Harbor Region.
Take a look at a coastal map of Maine and you’ll quickly discover there are dozens of peninsulas that stretch like fingers into the Gulf of Maine. Each one is unique and well worth exploring, and the Blue Hill Peninsula is no exception.
When visiting this Peninsula, it helps to love boats. Brooklin, the self-proclaimed “Boat Building Capital of the World” is home to six companies that produce everything from prams and peapods to offshore fishing boats to some of the world’s finest wooden yachts.
The Bold Coast Scenic Byway is a 125-mile scenic driving route connecting a network of communities whose entire way of life is historically bound to its wild and scenic coastal environment. The people who make their living by harvesting the bounty of the land invite visitors to come experience their stories and explore first hand the places and events that shaped them.
