This my last “scenes from somewhere we went in Portland” post. And this was my favorite activity that we did, so I guess I saved the best for last! On our last full day on vacation, we were finally able to sign up for a Lucky Catch Lobstering Tour. We tried to do a couple of different tours earlier in the week, but each boat we tried to join was full and had a waiting list. When the Friday 5pm cruise opened up, we grabbed it right away. My advice for anyone who is looking to do this someday is to book your spot in advance!
Anyway, the tour lasts about 90 minutes. It takes you through the islands and sights of Casco Bay, and you can choose whether to go on the seal tour or the lighthouse tour (we chose lighthouse). And then you learn how lobsters are caught! The staff on the boat obviously helped everyone along and were the ones to actually pull the traps in, but anyone on the cruise got to help measure the lobsters to see if they were good to keep or if we had to throw back in, figure out the gender so that we didn’t keep any females with eggs, throw the bait back into the sea (warning – LOTS of seagulls hover over you when this happens), and more. If you don’t want to participate and just watch you don’t have to, but what’s the fun in that? I liked that there were only about 15 people on the boat so everyone could be involved.
The best part is that at the end of the tour you can buy a lobster for only $5 each. And then if you have nowhere to cook it on your own, you can walk over to the Portland Lobster Company restaurant right next door to the dock and have them cook you up a full lobster dinner for only $10 more. So you basically get a 90 minute tour of Casco Bay, learn to lobster, and are able to enjoy a full lobster dinner for only $40 (the tour itself was $25 a person). Can’t beat it!
If you ever find yourself in Maine looking for something to do, head on over to Lucky Catch. You will not be disappointed, I promise!
What’s a fun vacation excursion that you’ve done before? Any good stories to share?