Let’s talk lobster: Maine lobster shacks, Maine lobster festivals, Maine lobsterboat races, Maine lobsterboat tours

Maine is world renowned for its lobster, and there are plenty of ways to enjoy it. Eating it, of course, is one way, but you can also enjoy a festival celebrating the bugs, or watch races between lobsterboats (fierce competition), or go out on one and learn about and perhaps take part in how the tasty crustaceans are caught.

• Maine lobster shacks

Now I think the best way to enjoy it is in the rough at a lobster shack. You can get down and dirty and dig in with abandon, savoring the succulent meat and enjoying the experience of eating outdoors on a wharf or seaside deck, while watching lobstermen unload their catches or bait and fuel their boats, and listening to seagulls beg. Even better, at many, you can bring all the necessary go-withs, from tablecloths and flowers to wine and cheese. Here are  my favorite Maine coast lobster shacks.

• Maine lobster festivals

Maine has three lobster festivals that are worth planning a visit around.

The big kahoona is the Maine Lobster Festival, in Rockland. This is isn’t just a chow-down but a full-blown festival, with crownings and parades, fun races and games, exhibits, arts and crafts, music, and, of course, more lobster than imaginable. Plan well ahead for this one, and don’t think you’re going to arrive in town and find an empty hotel/motel room or even a campsite. Always the first weekend in August.

Far smaller is the Winter Harbor Lobster Festival, in Winter Harbor, on the Schoodic Peninsula and near the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park. An event highlight is the annual lobsterboat races, with 13 classes rated by size and power. Other activities include a road race, large craft fair , parade, and, of course, a chow-down lobstah dinnah with all the trimmings. Festival is free; there’s a charge for dinner. Always the second Saturday in August.

Tiniest, but perhaps biggest in local pride, is the annual Frenchboro Lobster Festival, a one-day fund-raising shindig that requires a special ferry boat run from Bass Harbor, on Mount Desert Island. Frenchoboro, by the way, is great to visit anytime (more). Always the second Saturday in August.

• Maine lobsterboat races

NASCAR, schmasscar, in Maine real men and women race lobsterboats, replacing the chug-a-lug engines with souped up vroooommmers! Competitors take these races very seriously, and there are classes rated by size and power. Here’s the 2012 schedule, via the Maine Lobsterboat Association: