Busy summer of lobster boat racing ahead;  24 classes and up to 12 days of competition

ROCKPORT, ME – You’re going to want to pack a lunch if you’re heading out to take in one of the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association (MLBRA) races this summer.

Participants at MLBRA’s pre-season spring meeting, held during the Maine Fishermen’s Forum here on Mar. 7, voted to add additional brackets within two classes, resulting in a sanctioned race card of up to 24 individual races for this year’s circuit, not counting free-for-alls and local, non-points races.

Specifically, MLBRA has moved to break Diesel Class M – previously for boats 40’ and over up to 750 hp – into two subclasses:  Class M(A), 40’ and over, 0 to 500 hp; and Class M(B), 40’ and over, 501 to 750 hp.

This was a move prompted by the large number of boats currently participating in the class and is designed to encourage better competition by breaking the class into the two horsepower groupings.

Additionally, MLBRA has split its traditional Wooden Boat class into two classes: A, for boats any hp up to 35’11’; and B, also for any hp, 36’ and over.

In one other class-related piece of business, MLBRA for this year has eliminated the upper hp limit in Gas Class D, which has previously been for V-8s, 376-540 cid, 24’ and over.  The hp range for this class now reads 376 cid and over.  This race, by the way, is for non-working racers.

Long Island’s Steve Johnson – who has entertained race crowds with everything from PT boat engines to convertibles (seriously) – asked what class he would be running in if he “showed up with a gas turbine.”

“Well,” said Johansen, “you wouldn’t qualify for any of the regular classes – but you could certainly make exhibition runs.”…

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Read the rest of this story and much, much more in the April issue of Commercial Fisheries News.  Buy this issue or Subscribe

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