On a warm August Maine morning,
Mark and I arrived at the Bucksport Town Dock to board the Jenny G II for a 3
hour lobster boat tour on a real working lobster boat, piloted by Captain Greg Perkins. We immediately liked our captain when his response to
our half hour early arrival was, “I love Mainers, you’re always on time!”
Once on board, we headed down the
main channel, past Fort Knox and under the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. After passing a few porpoises, Greg
began hauling in traps. First, he
gaffed the buoys with a gaffing hook and hooked the line to the wheel pulley
and once the trap was at the side of the boat, he easily hauled it up with one
hand. Once he opened the trap
door, he began throwing crabs; smaller ones went back in the water, while the larger
ones made their way to a crate to be sold. After that, he checked the sex of the lobsters, measured
them and either threw them back or wrapped elastics around their claws and
threw them in a basket. He threw
the left over bait, herring, into the water for the waiting seagulls and filled
it quickly and pushed the trap back into the water. This all happened so quickly that if you didn’t watch
closely, you missed some of the steps.
Apparently, I hadn’t watched
closely enough when it was my turn.
Just holding the gaffing hook in my hands with two oversized slippery
gloves on was a task for me! The
whole time I was thinking, “What if this slips out of my hands and falls in the
water?” I succeeded in grabbing
the buoy my first try, in part because Greg said he’d be nice and slow down and
get real close for my first try. Then I proceeded to haul the trap in. I’m strong, but this girl couldn’t do
it with one hand. I used all my
leg muscles to haul that 50-pound trap up over the side of the boat. As soon as I opened the trap door, Greg
said, “Grab the crabs first and then it’s easier to get at the lobster. Oh and did I tell you they pinch? Really hard?”
No…pinching never looked like it
was a problem for Greg. My first
grab I got pinched and the crab wouldn’t let go. A few crabs flew right in Mark’s direction when I began
shaking my hand to get the pinch hold to release! I never did get the hang of the just-right-place to hold a
crab to get it out of the trap but I was able to comfortably take all of the
lobsters from the trap without getting pinched.
Each trap had an average of 1 to 2
lobster “keepers” and half a dozen crabs.
By the time I took care of the crabs and lobsters, emptied the bait net
out and refilled it and threaded it into its hooks, closed the door on the trap
and got ready to throw the trap back into the waters, Greg could have taken
care of 5 traps. He was very
patient and explained everything about the business of lobstering, the surrounding
area and his passion for this job he wants to do for a lifetime.
If you want a to enjoy a great morning on the water in a
lobster boat driven by a great lobsterman, I highly recommend a day with Greg
Perkins of Penobscot Narrows Lobstering Tours.
And when you’re done, buy the load
of lobster you caught and go home and eat lobster. As a matter of fact, help
out the Maine lobstermen and eat lobster once a week-it’s cheaper than a pound
of hamburg right now! 