60th Annual Maine Lobster Festival - Part Six, Lobster Crates and Cold Water

Well it's the last day of the 60th Annual Maine Lobster Festival and it's cooler and less humid than the past few days. They were real hot and muggy scorchers.

The biggest, best, and most popular event is saved for 2 pm on the last day. The Great International William Atwood Lobster Crate Race! Invented 31 years ago by Bill Atwood, it became a part of the Spruce Head Island festivals for it's first tens or so years and then became part of the Maine Lobster festival in Rockland. Well it's time to stroll on down to the harbor.

More after the jump.



Blackbeard growling mildly threatening greetings to the entering crowds.


Single? Double? Triple?


The pier is getting crowded and it's still a half hour until the race starts. There are 92 people who registered for the race before the cut-off time. A huge amount of contestants, which means it's going to be a long afternoon.

These are old fashion wooden lobster crates. Years ago they would be filled with lobsters and strung out for the docks where they floated with the tops of the crates just barely peeking out of the water. This way the lobsters would stay in good shape until the crates could be shipped out all over the world. Nowadays metal crates are used .When the event was held for the first time the crates were filled with live lobsters, but after having a bunch of crates destroyed and the lobsters escaped, they were replaced with sea weed and the tops of the crates reinforced with boards.


Last minute check of every single lobster crate for safety. (And to make sure it isn't too easy.) The crates barely float and if you were to stand on one it sinks pretty fast. So the key is to run like the wind. Otherwise you will be in that mighty cold water real fast. The warmest the water around here ever gets is 60 degrees during a heat wave. I dipped my hand in the water and it started getting numb in less than a minute. Brrrrrrr!

There are fifty crates strung between the two docks. So you run across and then have 15 seconds of rest before you run back, and so on until you fall in. It's very exhausting and 15 seconds doesn't give you anywhere near enough time to get your breath back unless you are a runner in top shape.

The great majority of people seemed to make it about four to seven crates before the big splash. If by some great luck and skill you run 500 crates (ten round trips) then you can rest until the end of the competition and then continue until you finally get so exhausted you take a dive.

There are four weight classes in the event and the lighter you are the easier it is. Adults have a very difficult time making it more than a few crates and have to sprint at high speed to stay up. I was standing at the starting point so if they are headed away chances are they just started and if they are heading back they are completing a lap. The record holder is Susan Lundquist, my friend Sandy's sister. She won with 3007, after which the event organizers made it much more difficult by leaving several inches of room between each crate. Then a few years ago Lucas Loeschner of Vienna, Austria won with 2660 crates and is the number two record holder.

I was introduced to his father, Ernst Loeschner during the event and he told me that he had run the race back in 1969, and that Lucas won three times. Once in each of the three lighter weight classes. today would be the start of the third generation of crate runners in this Austrian family. His grandsons Marvin Loeschner and Peter Pipal were going to give it a go.






I recognize this girl from when I took a pic of the skating club parade float on Saturday. I guess she likes cold, because she is the one of the few folks who has gone into that water and smiled.









It's OK to take a ride back to the dock when (not if) you fall in.


Yeah, it's darn cold water.








Some last minute coaching, basically run like a mad dog is after you.


Big guys go down FAST.




This college girl did really well, but she weighed less than 100lbs.




This girl and her friend had "I'm With Stupid" T-Shirts on. One had it on the front, and one on the back. She made it to number eight.


Her friend made it across and almost all the way back before falling.


Congratulatory hugs before they go to dry off and warm up.


This was another member of the Loeschner / Pipal family. He didn't make it more than ten crates before he took a spectacular flying belly flop into the water.


Bill Atwood, who created this event.




This is Marvin Loeschner running like the wind and finished a lap. Marvin was amazing and did ten laps, 500 crates before being called off to rest. He was huffing and panting and totally exhausted. He needed to rest so he could go back to attempt more at the end of the race. No one expected him to make it and the crowd went wild.

There was one other boy who did very well, but there was some major problem about his run. He fell, but stayed on the crates, and managed to keep on going and racked up 444 crates. But the reality is that it was around 142 when he fell. No one had ever been able to get up and start again after falling before. So they had no rules about this. They gave him the official number of 444 but told everyone else that if you fall, that's it. No getting back up.




It was hot and tiring out on the dock so I snuck off to get a large iced coffee to energize me.


The main part of the race is over. Marvin won and was the only person to run 500 crates. Now he is being given the chance to go for a new world's record. The Sea Goddess, who is the Queen of the Festival, and her Crown Princess look on in awe as Marvin is on number 700.


Now he's up to 1100.


This running machine makes me think of Forrest Gump when he runs back and forth across the country. The crowd is past wild and is completely silent. Marvelous Marvin is working on 1350.


Some of the festival directors and event organizers are talking about Marvin as he still keeps on running. He is at 1450.


I had my back turned to take a photo of this volunteer gent, right at the moment that Marvin finally fell from exhaustion. He ran an amazing 1474 crates and was the first person in many, many years to break 1000. An amazing job.


Sharon Lombardo, a festival director hands the award plaque to Marvin. Next to Marvin is his cousin Peter Pipal. In back in his grandfather Ernst and to his right is the Lobster Festival Grand Marshal, Alice Knight. She has been a volunteer for the festival for 35 years and has attended all 60 years of the festival.


The festival is ending and clean-up has started.


The lobster cooker is emptied and cooling down after being a raging inferno for five days. Say goodbye, because it will be replaced with a brand new one for next year.


Three volunteers manning the gate as people are heading home.


Time to slurp down one more fruit smoothie before heading out.


Volunteers finally taking a break.


Marvin and Peter having some hot dogs, corn dogs, and pizza after a long, hard day. They have been up since dawn because they both competed in the early morning Children's One Mile Fun Run and placed very well in the race. Peter came in 2nd with a time of 5:42, and Marvin came in 8th with a time of 6:26.


Where are you from? All across the country.

And all over the world.


I stopped by to get a last order of fresh breaded fried scallops to munch on the way home.


Working hard or hardly working? I found the rescue workers responded 31 times in just the last 48 hours alone. that was a lot for a town of around 7600 people, add in the 1600 in Owls Head, where i live, and you have 9200. Of course there were a LOT of visitors to the festival.



Well it's time to head home, but if you want to get caught up on all the official statistics and winners of the various events and competitions then check out these articles. MaineCoastNow and MaineCoastNowSports. Ayuh, the 60th Annual Maine Lobster Festival was Finestkind and Wicked Good. I'm already looking forward to next year.