PORTLAND, Maine — There are few things more synonymous with Maine – than lobsters. And, it takes a lot of work to make a living as a lobsterman in Maine. That is what nudged Captain Tom Martin to come up with the idea for Lucky Catch Cruises – part educational, part hands-on, ALL fun. Twenty years ago, he got the idea to bring passengers along on his lobster boat.
Besides experiencing the work of lobstering, he wanted to teach folks about some of the laws and regulations that are in place to keep the lobster population really thriving. His idea was to engage people in the entire process – and the hands-on work of pulling traps.
LUCKY CATCH | You can try lobster fishing
Most of his passengers on the Lucky Catch have never been aboard a real lobster boat. “We’ll get people from all over the United States and all over the world and they have a lot of interesting questions, they have a lot of interesting concepts of what they think it’s gonna be like,” says Capt. Tom.
During the Summer and early Fall, several times a day – passengers board The Lucky Catch, not fully knowing what to expect. After getting their photo taken with – what else?...a Maine lobster and a sou’wester, they head out to sea.
Crew members Sheila Towne and Rachel Ashman have worked together for many seasons, and seamlessly prepare the passengers for what’s ahead. They also serve as impromptu tour guides, pointing out lighthouses, Fort Gorges and the Portland Observatory.
Before long, passengers are pulling on overalls and aprons, and stuffing bait bags. The hands-on, hard work of lobstering is suddenly front and center, when the real work begins. Sheila is the ‘Energizer bunny’ of the crew – making sure each passenger gets to experience each aspect of the process of lobstering. She is both teacher and cheerleader as passengers step up to get their hands dirty and – if only for an hour or so – try on the role of being a Maine lobsterman.
Anyone who knows lobstering knows that the catch isn’t always a keeper, and those regulations are in place to keep the industry healthy. Everyone on board gets a chance to see how the process works. Traps are pulled, emptied, bait bags filled and re-tied -- and it all gets sent back overboard.
And so on this day, aboard The Lucky Catch, these newly minted fishermen and women got to experience the work that most of us only view from the distant shore, and they’ll return home with a few stories of life – as a Maine lobsterman. If you would like to find out more about Lucky Catch Cruises, you can visit their website at luckycatch.com.