The Lighthouse Keeper
LOBSTER….EVERYWHERE!
BY DANIEL W. DRAKE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
It is true; we did go to Maine two weekends ago, and as noted here last week, looked for water towers. (To the cynics around, no, I did not take on the water tower exercise so I could deduct the cost of the trip, although, I must admit, the thought did cross my mind.) The real purpose was to get away for a few days after a hectic summer, as well as to visit a place that I had never been.

Actually, both the water tower inspections and the visit to somewhere new were both smokescreens. The trip was designed entirely around a visit to LL Bean in Freeport, a place - so family lore relates - our son, as a teenager, more than once had taken off to from Connecticut for an overnight round-trip with some friends; a place that we feel as familiar with as some of the local stores.

Obviously, our first stop was Freeport, which, it soon became obvious, has taken on the task of removing fools from their money before they get to their vacation destinations through its vast array of shopping opportunities. Smart, I suppose. The tourists wouldn't have any money left after vacation. In truth, Freeport is little different from some of the high-end outlet malls scattered around the landscape. The difference is that Freeport still has a village feel instead of being a sea of boxy buildings surrounded by asphalt in the middle of nowhere. Not to be outdone by Nantucket, however, there was a row of porta potties in the parking lot. No, they did not have "Freeport" painted on them.

Before we even got to LL Bean, we found out the hard way that one of the brand name shoe "outlets" was really just a front for a full price store. You walk in and see a very non-outlet like display and, as it turns out, the prices are Fifth Avenue prices. The outlet goods are crammed into a small dark basement, with limited choice and none of the right sizes. I checked it out while someone else was trying on the shoes upstairs.

LL Bean presented itself as an old friend. Everything looked familiar. In fact everything was so familiar that one of the passing faces was a Nantucket face. What we discovered was that the color and size selections are not as good in the store as they are in the catalogue. We ended up buying nothing and deciding that, while we were glad to have seen the place, we really liked catalogue shopping better.

Onward to our destination near Boothbay Harbor. We selected that place because we had intended to visit friends there, but they decamped two days before we got there. Since the drive affords no coastal views, upon our arrival, we were immediately struck by the wooded, beach-less coastline and by the number of lobster pot buoys in the water.

Come to find out that those buoys are everywhere, literally. They are as ubiquitous as fleas on a barnyard dog. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to their placement. They are just there, each marked with its own distinctive coloring to enable the owner to identify it from the thousands of others. The buoys are all over, close to the shore and in the middle of the channels. They must pose a real hazard to navigation, but, apparently, in Maine lobster traps rule.

The lines which tether the traps are not only a hazard to inshore navigation, but on the deep sea traps they are also dangerous for marine life. The federal government is advocating the use of a "sinking" line which apparently poses less risk of harm to whales and dolphins and has even undertaken a program which gives lobstermen some sinking line in return for them turning in their existing gear. The lobstermen, being as obstinate as one might expect, don't like that and are planning a protest.

We watched the lobstermen pull their lines, to which two or three traps were tied. After emptying the trap, it would be placed on the transom with its mate or mates and when the skipper thought he had reached a better spot, seventy-five or one hundred yards away, over the side it would go again.

It's not clear whether the Maine folk like to eat lobster, but it is the come-on for virtually every eating establishment we saw. It was on every menu and available from breakfast through dinner in one iteration or another. The most creative offering that we tried was a lobster BLT at a restaurant in Damariscotta. It was fabulous. Nowhere did we see lobster ice cream, but someone surely has it.

Imagine a BLT with some bluefish pate smeared in it? I can't.

It is hard to believe that there are as many lobsters as are needed to fill all those traps, but they must be very plentiful. According to the local press, in the Mid-coast area, the price of lobster off the boat is at a historic low at $4.25 per pound. Elsewhere along the coast the landing price is $3.50 per pound which was enough to prompt a sympathy protest by the Boothbay Harbor lobstermen who didn't go fishing for a day. (Why is the price of lobster meat at an all time high in Nantucket?)

We drove up the coast one day as far as Camden, which is a pretty little town, the home to a wonderful fleet of Downeast schooners, and back through Rockport and Rockland, Waldoboro and Damariscotta. Boothbay Harbor and Rockland still have working waterfronts. The others have become gentrified and primarily serve yachtsmen and visitors. The difference - even the feel of the various towns - is significant.

Athree hour boat ride around the various islands and up the Kennebec River to Bath, home of the Bath Iron works which still builds destroyers for the U.S. Navy, was very interesting. We passed seven lighthouses, all of which have been automated and, in most instances, the keeper's house has fallen into disrepair. We passed a bald eagles nest and a few osprey nests, all of which were still occupied. We saw close up the destroyers under construction. But mostly, we saw miles of the Maine coastline. There was only one large beach - with almost no one on it - - and a couple of small beaches. The rest was rock and trees and the most eclectic architecture one could imagine. The over-all impression was that one has to be on the water in Maine to enjoy it and even realize that it is there.

After three days, realizing there is still much more of Maine to see Downeast and in the mountains, but having had our fill of lobster and of rocky coastline, we took our

leave and returned to Nantucket. It looks pretty good! I

The "Lighthouse Keeper" reflects the views of the author and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Nantucket Independent. Please send any comments to drake@nantucketindependent.com.