20 July/August 2019 _ PopularMechanics.comha’s twin throttles and enjoy my unfair
competitive advantage—not only twin
high-output three-cylinder inboards,
but jet drives, which provide instan-
taneous acceleration. Some of these guys
have pretty sizable outboards, and I have
a moment where I’m worried. But the
210 jumps on plane and steadily begins
pulling away. As I cross the finish line,
the GPS shows 45 mph, probably twice
as fast as my old boat used to go. Ven-
geance is mine! Unofficially, of course.
Officially, I’m just a twin-engine out-
of-state cheater, but I’m still giddy with the thrill of faux first place. I
pull to the side of the course to watch the other races, then head to The
Contented Sole to raft up at the dock for the postrace celebrations.
There, I meet Matt Johnson, part of the Whistlin’ Dixie crew. I
ask if its 1,000-horsepower CAT is stock. “Yeah, it’s stock!” he says,
laughing. “Fishermen always tell the truth, right?” Matt—a cham-
pion swimmer in high school and a certified diver now—has wet hair
because he just dove under a rival boat, Motivation, to cut a tangled
trap line out of the prop. This is a competition, but lobstermen are
a tribe, one that has internal squabbles over rules and territory but
is ultimately united enough to manage and sustain a fishery across
generations. Johnson’s uncle, Andy, gestures to another lobster-
man across the dock and says, “We were wrestling once in a bar and
went right through the front window. We’re like brothers. We were
racing them today.”
The emcee for the prize ceremony announces that they’re getting
started: “First-place winners, you can go get a free bucket of bait.”
I stick near the announcer because I’m curious to see who’ll get the
inaugural Popular Mechanics Flying Claw award, which I endowed
with $100 to help improve the mood of the registration guy who was
iffy on the whole twin-engine thing. I’m delighted to see that the prize
goes to Gabe Hanley, an 11-year-old kid who won the 25-horsepower
skiff class. I walk over to ask him what’s next for his lobster-boat rac-
ing career. He’s shy but he knows the answer, because it’s the same
answer for anyone here. “A bigger boat,” he says, looking up from his
rubber boots. “And a bigger motor, I guess.”Above: spectators,
Pats fans. Right:
Matt Johnson.COLUMNS