i love poland sailboat

'I Love Poland' racing yacht is about to arrive in Plymouth

The 'I Love Poland' racing yacht, based in Gdynia, is expected to make its debut in Britain’s Ocean City

• 22:29, 12 NOV 2018

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A group of Polish sailors will be spreading the message about their country’s cultural and sporting achievements on a visit to Plymouth this week.

The “I Love Poland” racing yacht, based in Gdynia, is expected to make its debut in Britain’s Ocean City on Tuesday or Wednesday. Gdynia in Poland and Plymouth are twinned.

The crew are on their way to a winter training base in Lisbon, before heading across the Atlantic in February for a series of races.

In May next year the yacht will attempt to break the record of 6 days, 22hr and 8 minutes from Newport, Rhode Island, to Lizard Point in Cornwall. They will then stop off in Plymouth on their way to race in Sweden.

The crew, whose ages range from 21-52, are skippered by experienced competitive sailor Jaroslaw Kaczorowski.

Mr Kaczorowski has taken part in a number of high level races including The Race 2000 and Mini Transat 2006. The crew are also supported by Grzegorz Baranowski who is the current Vice World Champion in ORC (Offshore Racing Congress) and a previous World Champion in match racing.

What is the 'I Love Polard' yacht?

The ‘I Love Poland’ yacht – a VO70 footer built in New England in 2011-2012 for the Volvo Ocean Race – is an educational and sporting project funded by the Polish National Foundation. The project aims to support young Polish sailors who are launching an international competitive sailing career, particularly in ocean regattas and to promote Polish sailing worldwide.

Filip Rdesinski, chairman of the Polish National Foundation Board said: “I am thrilled that I Love Poland, the yacht that is traveling around the world to promote our country, has called at Plymouth, the first foreign port on its international voyage.

“It was no accident that we chose this beautiful English city and port to stage our event. Plymouth is home to plenty of Polish highlights. It is a sister city to Gdynia, the first port built by the newly independent Polish state, and the hometown of our skipper and four crew members”.

What are they doing here?

While in Plymouth the crew will undertake educational visits and promotional events to promote Polish sailing and culture to a wider audience.

The week-long visit will see presentations to local schools, young sailors and cadets.

There are also talks about Polish history and culture by historian Martin Hazell and Patrick Ney at the Royal William Yard’s Ocean Studios on Friday. The crew will host a series of organised open deck visits in their berth at the Mayflower Marina.

Charles Bush, MD of Mayflower Marina said: “Over recent years we have forged links with a number of Polish sailors and most notably this year, Szymon Kuczynski returned to Mayflower Marina in May following his record breaking 270 day, solo, non-stop circumnavigation in his 23ft yacht Atlantic Puffin.

"In September, Polish skipper Asia (Joanna) Pajkowska set sail from Mayflower Marina in her 40ft yacht Fanfan on a solo non-stop circumnavigation. If successful, Asia will be the first female Polish sailor to complete this voyage, and she’ll cover at least 21,000 nautical miles and will be at sea for around 200-220 days!

"Whilst ‘I LOVE POLAND’ is berthed at Mayflower Marina there will opportunities for local school children and members of the Polish community to visit the boat and celebrate the particular relationship between Plymouth and Poland. We are very pleased to play our part in facilitating the visit.”

As part of the yacht’s visit to Plymouth, Polish Ambassador for the UK, Arkady Rzegocky and Filip Rdesinski, chairman of the Polish National Foundation Board will join yacht skipper Jaroslaw Kaczorowski in laying wreaths at the RAF and Allied Forces Monument and Polish Navy Memorial Plaque on Plymouth Hoe on Sunday.

Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki said: “I am so pleased that in this special year of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence we can celebrate our maritime history in the city of Plymouth – a sister city of the port of Gdynia. It is here that the Polish Navy ships were based during the Second World War, fighting alongside their British comrades.

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• Most Recent

Published on January 17th, 2023 | by Editor

Volvo 70 claims line honors in Transatlantic Race

Published on January 17th, 2023 by Editor -->

St George’s, Grenada (January 17, 2023) – The Polish National Foundation’s Volvo 70 I Love Poland (POL), skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski, crossed the 2023 RORC Transatlantic Race finish line today to take Monohull Line Honors in 08:23:37:07.

Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70 took Multihull Line Honors on January 13, setting a new multihull race record of 5 days 5 hours 46 mins 26 secs. I Love Poland fell short of the monohull elapsed record of 7 days, 22 hrs, 01 mins, 04 secs set in 2022 by the 100ft VPLP Design/Verdier Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth.

I Love Poland Crew: Grzegorz Baranowski, Mateusz Byrski, Arkadiusz Fedusio, Adam Glogowski, Grzegorz Gozdzik, Robert Hajduk, Dominik Janowczyk, Pacyfik Koseski, Konrad Lipski, Borys Michniewicz, Bartosz Nowicki, Filip Pietrzak, Patryk Richter, and Jakub Surowiec.

Nine of the I Love Poland crew are under 35 years of age and skipper Grzegorz Baranowski is the leader and oldest member of the team. A highly accomplished match racer, Baranowski became involved in the Polish National Foundation program in the early stages to train Polish offshore sailors.

“Last year was our first Transatlantic Race and our aim was to complete the race safely,” said Baranowski. “This year, safety was still the top priority but with more experienced sailors on board, and some new youngsters, we could push harder.

“To win this race flying the Polish flag, with an all-Polish crew is just perfect. I Love Poland race with a lot of passion and emotion; you can feel the power on board. A Volvo 70 was made for ocean racing and in 15-20 knots of wind speed it is really wet on deck, but she really starts to fly.

“The RORC Transatlantic Race is the perfect start to our Caribbean program and next we will sail to Antigua to race in the RORC Caribbean 600.”

I Love Poland navigator Konrad Lipski is just 27 years old but has already claimed Monohull Line Honors in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, Roschier Baltic Sea Race, and now the RORC Transatlantic Race.

“From the beginning we knew that it was likely to be an almost classic trade winds race,” said Lipski. “However, it was a bit shiftier than usual and there was a variety of sailing conditions, from over 20 knots to very light winds. We had a plan at the beginning and we stuck to it.

“I was a bit nervous when we were very far south and the shift was late in coming, but by then we had built up a good lead and we could be a bit more conservative, so we gybed back towards the rhumb line.

“For me personally, I had to withdraw from the crew last year because of COVID, and you never know if you will get another chance. So, it is fantastic to do this race again and to win Monohull Line Honors makes me very proud.”

Race details – Entry list – Tracker – Results – Facebook

The 9th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race started January 8 from the Spanish island of Lanzarote of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, with 21 entries racing under the IRC and MOCRA Rating Rules competing on the 3,000 nm course to Grenada.

Multihull elapsed record is 5 days 5 hours 46 mins 26 secs set in 2023 by Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati Multi70.

Monohull elapsed record is 7 days, 22 hrs, 01 mins, 04 secs set in 2022 by the 100ft VPLP Design/Verdier Comanche, skippered by Mitch Booth.

Source: RORC

Tags: RORC Transatlantic Race , Volvo Open 70

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Flying the flag for Poland

Two young Polish leaders have scored some inspiring victories in major offshore regattas, beating world class teams with far bigger budgets

Bang for buck, it’s hard to think of a big boat project that scores more highly than I Love Poland. The VO70 that was originally constructed for US skipper Ken Read’s Puma campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race, Mar Mostro is now enjoying a fulfilling second life as the 70-foot platform for an extremely successful and well-run tour of the offshore racing circuit. And a lot more besides.

Earlier this year, the young Polish crew sailed I Love Poland to line honours and IRC Super Zero class victory in the RORC Transatlantic Race. It’s just the latest in a long list of achievements, such as winning line honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the Gotland Runt and the Roschier Baltic Sea Race.

The project is spearheaded by two ambitious 27-year-old Poles, Maciej Patoka and Konrad Lipski. Patoka is the business brain, the man who brings it all together on shore. Lipski is the navigator on the boat, and the one who coordinates the sailing team and helps point the boat and the project in the right direction on the water.

The project has come a long way from its beginnings in 2018 and its purpose and direction have taken a few different turns too. ‘The original aim was to promote Poland abroad,’ Lipski says. ‘The Polish National Foundation financed the purchase of a state-of-the-art third generation Volvo Open 70, and the project began in September 2018. The boat was sailed across the Atlantic to Miami to act as a promotional platform for Poland.

‘I got involved at the end of 2018 but I could see that the project was struggling with a clear purpose. Because of course, it's an amazing boat, amazing for racing, but also very demanding as well. I grew up racing in Optimist, 29ers, 49ers, so for me, it's it was always about the racing, about making the boat go fast. So together with Maciej Patoka in cooperation with Polish National Foundation, we decided to shift the focus of the project to participating in prestigious regattas worldwide, which of course also indirectly helps with the broader goal of promoting the country.’ Today, they point out three separate, but connected, goals of the project.

The training and educational aspect of I Love Poland emerged organically out of the original project but has now become a core part of the programme. ‘Usually at the end of an Olympic campaign or at the end of your dinghy racing career, there are two choices in a country like Poland: become a coach or just quit sailing and go to another industry,’ Maciej Patoka says.

‘For me, to jump on board a boat like a VO70 was just a dream,’ Lipski adds, but how do you make that experience more than a oneoff? How do you turn it into a lifelong career in the marine industry? That’s what we’re aiming to achieve with I Love Poland.’

The programme encourages applications from young Polish sailors. In its first four years, I Love Poland has received more than 1,100 applications from people with very different backgrounds Some, like Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Agnieszka Skrzypulec, bring a lot of experience from other backgrounds, while others are far less decorated. Lipski says the overriding factor they’re looking for is a willingness to learn and put in the hard work to improve.

‘We’re very proud of our team members, and I’m not only talking about current ones, but about everyone who joined the team at any stage of the project. We can see that most of them use this opportunity to boost their careers. To give even more value to our sailors, we organise multiple pieces of training and courses like Sea Survival, Medical, SRC, PADI Diving, RYA Yachtmaster and many more, so besides being great sailors, they get many useful skills that are wanted at the market’.

Lipski says the second goal is take part in what he describes as “iconic” events. ‘Events such as the major RORC competitions, the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Middle Sea Race. To line up against famous boats like Comanche and Rambler is really exciting. We had a great race against Pyewacket in the Caribbean 600, and events like these give us an amazing opportunity to build a training program for young sailors, and to compete alongside full-time professionals.’

‘The third goal,’ says Patoka, ‘is the promotional aspect of the campaign. For example, if you’re winning the Rolex Middle Sea Race and the main newspaper in Malta is running a big photo of the boat with a huge I Love Poland logo on the spinnaker, that’s much better publicity than anything you could hope to achieve by organising your own promotional event.’

That said, winning line honours does also make it easier to make an impact when you hold an event, such as the team did in Malta. ‘We organised the event with the Polish embassy in Malta, and we invited the ambassador and other residents in Malta with Polish citizenship to visit the boat. So sometimes you can make a big impact with a huge amount of effort and a small budget. Whether we’re in Malta or New York or anywhere with a strong Polish community, we always like to connect with people around the world.’

The team organised a similar event in Helsinki before the start of the Baltic Sea Race, again meeting people with connections to Poland. ‘The Polish embassy was also providing support for a group of refugees from Ukraine and they asked us if we could help. So we had something like 50 Ukrainians join us, and I think it was an amazing experience for them,’ says Lipski. ‘Particularly for the 10-year-olds. I think being on the boat was a nice distraction from thinking about all they had been through in the early months of the war [with Russia]’.

Aside from building international relations, I Love Poland is also helping put a spotlight on the strong yacht and shipbuilding industry back home. ‘We have plenty of boats and boatbuilders in Poland, although nothing quite like a VO70,’ says Lipski. ‘But whenever we have something we need to fix or upgrade on the boat, we try to get it done by a local company. My dream is to be able to continue this project long enough that one day we can launch a Polish-built highperformance boat, maybe a Class40 or even an Imoca. Right now, we are sharing our knowledge and experience from the VO70 with local manufacturers and trying to help grow the skills and interest in these projects locally. If we can help take the Polish yacht building industry in a more hi-tech direction, that would be a great thing.’

Whatever aspect of the project, Lipski and Patoka are doing their best to deliver maximum bang for buck. ‘We are trying to be as effective as possible. We are trying to create the biggest experience we can with the resources that we have, not to spend lots of money where we don’t need to. We are young, we have learned a lot along the way, but there is always more we can do to learn and to improve.’

Lipski is proud of the race record of I Love Poland compared with the fully professional, highly funded campaigns which they often find themselves competing against. ‘If you compare our results with our level of funding, I think we are probably winning that race,’ Lipski laughs. ‘We are aiming to achieve the most with the least amount. We have just to be very smart with our budget and planning. And the second thing is because we are trying to involve young people and we want to give them experience, we are able to do it a bit more cheaply than just hiring very experienced sailors, like you see on other high-profile sailing projects. We’re doing it for Poland, but we also want to show anyone from any country what it’s possible to achieve in this sport if you’re organised and committed to the project.’

It can be difficult for projects like this have to justify themselves with hard metrics but there are valid tangible benefits, Lipski argues. ‘People in Poland are happy to see the boat decorated in our national colours, the white and the red, flying the flag for our country. We get so much positive feedback from people saying things like “you’re so young but we can see so much passion and you're very dedicated.” I think it makes them proud to see Poland being represented by our boat and our team. That kind of support means a lot to us.

‘I believe we have reached the point where I Love Poland has become a brand, a kind of quality stamp. This would not be possible if any of the above elements did not work. We had to evolve, gain experience from the best, build a competent and loyal team, popularise sailing and manage it well to be who we are today. We are perceived during the regatta and in many places around the world not only as a crew and a yacht, but as the I Love Poland brand.’

Click here for more information on I Love Poland »

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I Love Poland win the IMA Transatlantic Trophy 2023 RORC Transatlantic Race – Monohull Line Honours

Tuesday 17 January, Grenada: The Polish National Foundation’s Volvo 70 I Love Poland (POL), skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski crossed the finish line outside Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, Grenada on Tuesday 17th January 2023. Taking Monohull Line Honours in under nine days, the all-Polish team lifted the IMA Transatlantic Trophy.

I Love Poland Crew: Grzegorz Baranowski, Mateusz Byrski, Arkadiusz Fedusio, Adam Glogowski, Grzegorz Gozdzik, Robert Hajduk, Dominik Janowczyk, Pacyfik Koseski, Konrad Lipski, Borys Michniewicz, Bartosz Nowicki, Filip Pietrzak, Patryk Richter, Jakub Surowiec.

Nine of the I Love Poland crew are under 35 years of age and skipper Grzegorz Baranowski is the leader and oldest member of the team. A highly accomplished match racer, Baranowski became involved in the Polish National Foundation programme in the early stages. I Love Poland is successfully producing top class Polish offshore sailors.

The Polish National Foundation’s Volvo 70 I Love Poland completing the RORC Transatlantic Race in Grenada in an elapsed time of 8 days 23hrs 37mins 07 secs © Arthur Daniel/RORC

“I am very proud of the team. Last year was our first Transatlantic Race and our aim was to complete the race safely. This year, safety was still the top priority but with more experienced sailors on board, and some new youngsters, we could push harder. To win this race flying the Polish flag, with an all-Polish crew is just perfect. I Love Poland race with a lot of passion and emotion; you can feel the power on board. A Volvo 70 was made for ocean racing and in 15-20 knots of wind speed it is really wet on deck, but she really starts to fly. The RORC Transatlantic Race is the perfect start to our Caribbean programme and next we will sail to Antigua to race in the RORC Caribbean 600,” commented Grzegorz Baranowski dockside.

I Love Poland navigator is Konrad Lipski, who is just 27 years old but has the experience and maturity way beyond his years. Not many navigators of that age can have taken Monohull Line Honours in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, Roschier Baltic Sea Race, and now the RORC Transatlantic Race.

“From the beginning we knew that it was likely to be an almost classic trade winds race,” commented Konrad Lipski. “However, it was a bit shiftier than usual and there was a variety of sailing conditions, from over 20 knots to very light winds. We had a plan at the beginning and we stuck to it. I was a bit nervous when we were very far south and the shift was late in coming, but by then we had built up a good lead and we could be a bit more conservative, so we gybed back towards the rhumb line. For me personally, I had to withdraw from the crew last year because of Covid, and you never know if you will get another chance. So, it is fantastic to do this race again and to win Monohull Line Honours makes me very proud.”

RORC Transatlantic 2023/Arthur Daniel

I Love Poland was met dockside by Zara Tremlett and the Port Louis team with two cases of cold beer. The Grenada Tourism Authority representative Alyssa Bierzynski, whose father is Polish, presented I Love Poland with a gift basket of Grenadian goods. After safely mooring up on the Superyacht Dock at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, the I Love Poland team went to the Victory Bar & Restaurant; 14 burgers and fries were very much devoured and appreciated!

Monohull Line Honours victory for the young team on the Polish National Foundation’s I Love Poland © Arthur Daniel/RORC RORC Transatlantic 2023/Arthur Daniel

For full coverage of the RORC Transatlantic Race, including race updates and stories from the teams, follow the Royal Ocean Racing Club on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. For regular updates including satellite tracking go to: www.rorctransatlantic.rorc.org

Results: HERE

Follow the race here: http://rorctransatlantic.rorc.org/tracking/2023-fleet-tracking.html

Images from press release HERE Credit: Arthur Daniel/RORC

ENDS/.. Louay Habib/RORC

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• I Love Poland

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I Love Poland na mecie 43. edycji prestiżowych regat morskich Rolex Midlle Sea Race!

Kategorie: Bez kategorii | 25 października 2022

by: ILP - informacje prasowe o 17:16 | 1067 wyświetleń | skomentuj

czytaj więcej

I Love Poland w Rolex Middle Sea Race

Kategorie: Bez kategorii | 19 października 2022

by: ILP - informacje prasowe o 05:42 | 1245 wyświetleń | skomentuj

Volvo Open 70 I Love Poland, owned by the Polish National Foundation and skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski crossed the finish line in Helsinki to take Line Honours for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race © Pepe Korteniemi

Baltic Sea Race – I Love Poland takes Line Honours

Helsinki, 24 July, 2022: Volvo Open 70 I Love Poland, owned by the Polish National Foundation and skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski crossed the finish line in Helsinki to take Line Honours for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race at 19:27:35 EEST on Sunday 24th July 2022. The elapsed time was 3 days, 0 hours, 27 minutes, 37 seconds, setting the Monohull Race Record.

An astonishing light airs battle decided the Line Honours winner for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race. I Love Poland crossed the finish line just 700 metres ahead of Tilmar Hansen’s German TP52 Outsider. Volvo 70 GP Bullhound with Per Roman at the helm was less than an hour behind I Love Poland after three days of racing. VO65 Ambersail was at one stage 18 miles in front of I Love Poland on the final leg, but finished fourth, 28 minutes behind GP Bullhound.

I Love Poland was presented with the Bobby Lowein Wheel for winning Monohull Line Honours. The trophy was a highly regarded award for past performance racing classes in the Fastnet Race. Previous winners of the trophy include world famous Maxi yachts: Rothmans, Alexia, Longobarda and Leopard; and now I Love Poland will be the latest boat to be inscribed on the trophy.

“We are really happy, we have done it,” commented a very proud Grzegorz Baranowski, skipper of I Love Poland. “The plan was to fight to the end and it was exactly that. There were a few wind holes, but we crossed the line first and we are delighted. When I look at the names on this trophy, we are so proud that ours will go with them. I am even more proud of my young crew who are trying their best to go forward. Thank you to the organisers of this race, it has been a privilege to compete in the first Roschier Baltic Sea Race.”

Ambersail 2, GP Bullhound and I Love Poland had all led the fleet during the 635 nautical mile race. The Outsider crew sportingly gave a respectful three cheers to the I Love Poland team after crossing the finish line. I Love Poland returned the gesture before heading ashore for a cold case of Finnish Fat Lizard Beer.

The German Carkeek 47 Störtebeker was the next team to finish the Roschier Baltic Sea Race at 23.57 local time. (Further news later)…

The official race supporters of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race are: The City of Helsinki; The Nyländska Jaktklubben (NJK), Finnish Offshore Racing Association (AMP); Helsingfors Segelklubb (HSK); FINIRC and the Xtra Stærk Ocean Racing Society.

For further information and to follow the Roschier Baltic Sea Race please go to:

http://www.rorc.org/baltic-sea-race

@RORCRacing

ENDS/… Louay Habib

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Roschier Baltic Sea Race – Line Honours for I Love Poland

I Love Poland, owned by the Polish National Foundation and skippered by Grzegorz Baranowski crossed the finish line in Helsinki to take Line Honours for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race at 19:27:35 EEST, Sunday 24 July 2022.

The elapsed time was 3 days, 0 hours, 27 minutes, 37 seconds, setting the Monohull Race Record.

An astonishing light airs battle decided the Line Honours winner for the Roschier Baltic Sea Race.

I Love Poland crossed the finish line just 700 metres ahead of Tilmar Hansen’s German TP52 Outsider.

Volvo 70 GP Bullhound with Per Roman at the helm was less than an hour behind I Love Poland after three days of racing.

VO65 Ambersail was at one stage 18 miles in front of I Love Poland on the final leg, but finished fourth, 28 minutes behind GP Bullhound.

Mirror Class Nationals - Day 1 goes to Ben and Keira McGrane

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The current position of AIOLOS is at Aegean Sea reported 85 days ago by AIS. The vessel AIOLOS (MMSI 261081010) is a Sailing vessel and currently sailing under the flag of Poland .

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How to Land and Handle Snakeheads Safely and Easily in a Kayak

By Joe Cermele

Posted on Aug 22, 2024 10:22 AM EDT

4 minute read

People who don’t fish for snakeheads love to talk about them like they’re evil beasts conjured by the devil himself and unleashed in our waters from the seventh level of Dante’s Inferno. Are they cunning predators? Absolutely. Evil? Hardly.

So much media attention has been placed on their “vicious” teeth and don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want one to clamp down on my fingers. But getting bitten by one of these fish after you catch it would only happen if you were incredibly careless or did, in fact, stick your digits in its mouth. What snakeheads are, though, is far stronger and more tenacious out of the water than most gamefish we catch. So, if you’re considering targeting snakeheads on a kayak — arguably one of the best ways of getting after them — there are some safety concerns to consider.

Related: How to Catch Snakeheads

I’ve caught everything from baby 12-inch snakeheads to 10-pound goliaths in my kayak, and dealing with these fish while floating around on a narrow plastic boat can be a challenge. There’s little room to work and no dry land where you can set the fish down and get leverage. Plus, you’re trying to keep your balance. Snakeheads are angry when they’re caught and because they can breathe air, they don’t quickly settle and tire out of water.

So here’s a breakdown of my snakehead landing program. If you’re ready to get after these “evil” invasives, these tricks will help make the process smoother whether you’re letting your catch swim free or bringing it home for the deep fryer.

Snakeheads are tricksters. They go nuts when you set the hook, thrashing violently and jumping, but they calm down pretty quickly. Like muskies, the initial hit is the magic moment, but the fight is usually over fast. You want to muscle the fish in without introducing any slack to your line so the hooks stay firmly planted in their hard jaws. The lack on drag-screaming runs gives the illusion that these fish are out of gas after that first short round of headshaking and pulling, but they have gallons left in the tank. Because of this, a net is critical.

Ideally, you’ll be armed with a net that has a deep bag , because a snakehead can and will easily jump right out of a shallow bag. The fish may wind up in your net with little fanfare, but it’s almost a guarantee it’s going to go ballistic again once it’s there. A net with a deep bag allows you to hold the fish securely at the side of your kayak where it can thrash and roll without getting away. Always give the fish a minute or two to expend some energy in the net. Now is the time to get your rod in a secure spot and get any loose hooks or gear put away before the fish is in your lap.

Lip Service

A lip-gripping tool is a must for snakeheading. You can, of course, use a high-end Boga Grip , but I prefer an inexpensive plastic gripper that locks shut. These also float, which is always a plus when fishing from a kayak. Regardless of the model you choose, a lip gripper is critical for controlling a snakehead safely.

Read Next: The Best Fishing Rods, Tested and Reviewed

Snakeheads have incredible jaw power and it’s not uncommon for them to be clamped down on your lure so hard that you can’t open their mouths. They can be clenched up so tightly that I often need a pair of long-nose pliers to get their mouths open wide enough to even insert the lip gripper. Once that gripper is firmly in place, however, the fish can thrash and wriggle all it wants and, if you have a firm hold, it won’t get away. The tool will also keep the mouth open to make removing the hook easier. I usually secure the gripper in a fish’s mouth while it’s still in the net at the side of the kayak. The objective is to have complete control over the snakehead so you don’t have to fumble or make any sudden movements that could get you off balance. This is especially important when dealing with large specimens.

There are all kinds of hook removal tools on the market, but the one I find most useful for snakeheads is a simple, cheap, old-school hook disgorger . If a fish completely inhaled your lure, I find it can be easier to quickly pop the hooks out with a disgorger than dig around with pliers. Hollow-body frog lures especially tend to be planted in the roof of the fish’s mouth, and even though a disgorger is designed to remove a single hook, it usually pops both frog hooks out easily. Simply slide the tool down to the hook and give it a strong tap downward. Snakeheads have wide mouths, so, assuming your lip gripper is keeping the mouth open, lures can be easily pulled out after that pop.

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In Maine, a Father-Daughter Team Wins a Lobster Boat Race

Jeremy Beal, a boat builder and lobsterman, had a simple strategy: “Point it and punch it!” His 14-year-old daughter took it from there.

By Steven Kurutz

Reporting from Long Island, Maine.

Dozens of boats zipped across Casco Bay during the Maine Lobster Boat Races on Saturday. Only one had a purple bottom.

That boat, a 32-footer with a powerful diesel engine, belonged to Jeremy Beal, 45, a large, soft-spoken man who comes from a long line of boat builders and lobstermen.

“See, I grew up right in it,” he said between drags of a cigarette while leaning against the rail of his boat on the evening before the big race.

For decades, Mr. Beal’s father, Wayne Beal, and an uncle, Calvin Beal, have built boats used by commercial fishers up and down the Maine coast. After years spent learning the family trade, Jeremy took over his dad’s business, Wayne Beal’s Boat Shop, in Jonesport, a seaside town more than 200 miles northeast of Portland.

“I bought the boat off my father,” Mr. Beal said. “It was his last power boat. He’s retired out of the boat shop. I won’t sell the boat unless I have to. Just for the fact that it was my dad’s.”

To pay off the boat, Mr. Beal has returned part-time to lobster fishing, something he first started doing at age 6. This summer he has been helped by his 14-year-old daughter, Mariena Beal, who will enter ninth grade at Jonesport-Beals High School next month.

Together, father and daughter have been dropping 250 traps into the Gulf of Maine to catch thousands of the large lobsters prized around the world for their meat. They split whatever money is left after paying for the bait (herring, mostly), fuel and the monthly boat bill.

Mr. Beal said he hoped the experience would teach his daughter both financial responsibility and the family’s way of life on the water. But Mariena didn’t quite get her way when it came to the color of the boat.

“She wanted a pink bottom, but I wouldn’t let that fly,” he said.

The pair hit on purple as a compromise. And Mariena got to name the boat — My Turn, she called it.

When they are not hauling up traps, Mr. Beal and his daughter have been competing on the lobster boat racing circuit, an annual series of summertime competitions along the Maine coast. The events, run by the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association, are essentially drag races — the fastest boat wins.

“I’ve always been a competitor,” Mr. Beal said.

He summarized his racing strategy: “Point it and punch it!”

Two days before the recent race, Mr. Beal unloaded the buckets of herring he keeps on deck. He lugged out the lobster crates and the 55-gallon plastic drums that store the catch. Finally, he took a scrub brush and washed down the deck with Dawn dish soap.

On Friday morning, after waking early and packing sandwiches for lunch, Mr. Beal charted a scenic southwesterly course south from Jonesport. Alone on deck, he took in the sight of the rocky coastline and marine life, including porpoises. His wife and daughters, including Mariena, drove the 200 miles separately in a car.

It took Mr. Beal just under five hours to sail to Long Island, one of Maine’s Casco Bay islands that lie a few miles from Portland. Many of its 230 residents work on boats or own one.

A crowd had gathered for a cookout at the old boathouse on Wharf Street when Mr. Beal moored his vessel. Men and women were eating hamburgers, drinking beer and lining up to buy race merchandise from Lisa Kimball, an islander who co-chairs the race. The proceeds were going toward a scholarship fund for children on the island.

Mr. Beal made the rounds. Several of the partygoers had bought their boats from him or his father. The price of lobsters was solid this year, everyone agreed, though the catch varied from “good” to “horrible,” depending on who you asked.

Adam Kimball, Ms. Kimball’s husband, planned to race the next day. He works on an oil tanker in Alaska, but you don’t need a commercial fishing license to compete — so long as you have a typical lobster boat, which he does.

“It’s a lot of money to spend for not a lot of return,” Mr. Kimball, 46, said with a laugh.

He was referring to the modest prize money, usually a few hundred dollars, and to the way some boat owners invest thousands to gain horsepower and perhaps a knot or two in speed.

“They call it ‘gooning up’ the engine,” Mr. Kimball said. “There are some risks to that. Like you blow it up.”

Mr. Beal spotted one of the modern legends of the lobster boat racing.

“Stevie Johnson,” he said. “Now there’s a real character.”

Mr. Johnson, the proprietor of Johnson’s Boatyard on Long Island, is known for building unusual boats , some with automobiles mounted on the hulls. One of them, the “Vette-Boat,” features a 1984 Corvette on a 28-foot hull. Mr. Johnson has won his share of races on his tricked-out vessels over the years, but their main purpose is “to cause a scene,” he likes to say.

Dressed in a blue Hawaiian-print shirt, blue board shorts and Crocs, and nursing Canadian Club whiskey and ginger ale in a red plastic cup, Mr. Johnson, who is in his 70s, was trailed by a small entourage at the cookout.

It was getting late. Mr. Beal untied his boat and sailed over to Portland, where a friend was letting him dock while in town.

Mariena had missed the cookout — she was at the Maine Mall, the largest shopping plaza in the state, doing some back-to-school shopping with her mother. The next day, she would be at the wheel of My Turn.

“She’s like me,” Mr. Beal said. “She likes to go fast.”

And the Winner Is …

She also likes to shop. Mariena and her family members missed the noonish start time of the races on Saturday because they had gotten stuck in traffic after spending the morning back at the mall.

Mr. Beal stood at the wheel of My Turn, engine idling, listening to an announcer call the first few races over a marine radio.

At quarter to one, Mariena came bounding down the dock and onto the boat. She wore black shorts, a white North Face long-sleeved top and leather sandals. Her toenails were painted purple, matching the color of her nose ring and the bottom of My Turn.

Like her father, Mariena was reserved. Asked what she liked about racing lobster boats, she replied, “Everything.”

She was joined on the boat by her mother, Maria Beal; her boyfriend, Caleb Geel; her older sister, Caitlin Childers; and Caitlin’s boyfriend, Nick Guptill.

Mr. Beal gunned the throttle and sped toward Long Island. By now, dozens of pleasure crafts and lobster boats were on the water. A crowd of spectators stood at the ferry dock.

Mr. Beal pulled up to the large boat where officials kept watch over the day’s races through binoculars. His passengers disembarked, leaving My Turn for the so-called committee boat.

Then Mr. Beal and Mariena motored toward the starting line, which was nearly a mile north. Once they were among the other boats in their race category — the G classification race, for boats from 28 to 35 feet in length with diesel engines — Mariena took the wheel.

The committee boat was like a floating party, with coolers of food and drinks. Jon Johansen, the bearded president of Maine Lobster Racing, and the publisher of Maine Coastal News , which covers the races, used a telephoto lens to call out the action.

On board, Maria Beal told a story.

Well into the time she was pregnant with Mariena, she said, she had done a lot of lobstering with her husband. That meant hauling up heavy traps to the point that she ruptured her placenta. The doctors thought she would lose the baby.

”But I went to bed for two weeks and it healed up,” Maria said. “And that’s why we named her Mariena — it means ‘lover of the sea.’”

It was now time for the G classification race.

The lead boat was a speck on the water. As it came closer, you could make out its purple bottom leaving a white-capped wake and all the other boats behind it.

Mariena had won, easily. The Beal contingent whooped and cheered.

“She doesn’t have much fear,” her mother said. “Never has. She’s been looking for speed since she was born.”

My Turn sidled up to the committee boat. Amy Tierney, a race co-chair, handed over an envelope of prize money. Mariena was $200 richer.

What did she plan to do with her winnings?

She smiled.

Steven Kurutz covers cultural trends, social media and the world of design for The Times. More about Steven Kurutz

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