In Maine you’re just surrounded by lobster. It’s a huge part of their summer economy. I wanted to show the kids just where lobster came from. Sail Acadia was our second choice as there is another company that has lobster boat charters but it turned out they don’t allow children under six years of age. We’re happy we found Sail Acadia as Southwest Harbor is now one of our favorite spots in Maine.
They begin the tour by telling you about Southwest Harbor and pointing out historic sites among the land masses as well as educating you about different boats that can be seen in the harbor. Every lobsterman has their own specially marked registered buoy and when we got to our spot that’s when the fun started.
They pulled up two traps on our charter and proceeded to tell us about the mechanism that helps pull the trap and the parts of the trap. Then they pulled out the lobsters and proceeded to tell us all about hard shell, vs soft shell, molting, how to judge if the lobster is a keeper, regeneration of limbs and all things lobster. We learned so much about lobsters on this cruise. We also learned we had been eating mostly soft shell lobsters at this one restaurant in Winter Harbor and didn’t know the difference. When we cracked a claw of these lobsters there was so much space inside the claw compared to the meat that filled it. Those lobsters were growing into there shells. Linda did order a 2 1/2 pound lobster there one night and it was bonafide hard shell.
On the charter we also saw ospreys and seals. The kids really enjoyed the cruise. poor Sarah had an ear infection (someone always gets sick on vacation) but rallied in the experience. Disappointed that we didn’t receive complimentary lobsters as part of our charter, we went on the recommendation of the first mate and went to Beal’s Lobster Pier afterwards. The lobster rolls are gigantic here and the tastiest we’ve had. If you’re going to Southwest Harbor I highly recommend Beal’s and Sail Acadia. They’re with it!
Check out the video below to find out more about lobstering and Southwest Harbor. I wish I could have put up the full 32 minutes of film up as there was so much we learned!
Sadly that just about ends our summer travels. don’t forget about us. We’ll be out there again real soon! Thanks for stopping by.
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