BELFAST — Though the 10th annual Harbor Fest officially began the evening of Aug. 18, the full festivities didn’t start until the next morning, when a variety of vendors took over Steamboat Landing.

It was a day that felt both warm and cool, depending on the cloud coverage, though the humidity was steady throughout.

The first major activity of the day was the the 17th annual Come Boating! Rowing Regatta, held in the waters of Belfast Harbor.

With the first heat of rowers taking off around 10 a.m., there was a large crowd gathered by the fence around the Boathouse, all with their eyes toward the water.

The many vendors on Steamboat Landing were in good company, with music performed at the gazebo and a large tent covering the busy hands of four teams of boat builders. The teams competed in the 10th annual National Boat Building Challenge to craft a skiff in the fastest time, with the boats being raced later in the afternoon.

The competition allows a maximum of four hours for participants to create their boats, using the Passy Skiff blueprint provided by event coordinators. The boats are judged for their quality before the teams test their seaworthiness in the waters of Belfast Harbor. 

Most of the younger visitors were more interested in the variety of children's activities available, including a bounce house, face painting, and a water exhibit run by several University of Maine students.

There was also a station set up for kids to build their own Styrofoam boats, which were then propelled by their builder’s breath in a race to the finish line. 

Between the kids activities and the boat building competition lay the remaining vendors, who offered an incredible range of goods.

There were intricate felted mice, homemade savory cookies, handmade bars of soap, nautical mats, art, and several fishing lure offerings.

While one vendor focused on impressively shiny lures to be used in the standard way, another crafted wooden lures with a completely different intended purpose.

Christopher Augustus, of Seal Harbor, has been making the detailed wooden lures for roughly ten years, after getting inspired by a shoebox full of antique lures he found in a thrift shop in Florida.

In Florida after retiring, the box of lures piqued his interest enough that he started to do some research on antique wooden lures. What he discovered led to a strong and enduring hobby.

“Before 1900 there were no wooden fish lures commercially available. Fast forward to after WWII, [around] 1950, plastics took over the lure market,” Augustus explained.

This brief time to shine has led to a strong collecting community, who often pay multiple thousands to add a new genuine antique to their collection.

“There was only a 50 year period when all of the wooden fish lures that collectors relish were created and patented,” he said.

The high cost of genuine antique lures was part of what inspired him to start creating reproductions in the first place.

“I decided to make reproductions of those lures and sell them to those of us who can’t afford the originals,” he said with a chuckle.

All of the lures Augustus creates are based on the authentic antique variety. He includes the name of the lure and their patent date in a cluster with the respective lures.

Though most buyers are looking to add to, or start a collection, Augustus said he does occasionally have someone thinking of using the lures for their purest purpose.

“Occasionally some young man will ask if he can fish with it, and my answer is always the same: after you buy it, it’s yours, do whatever you want with it.”

While the lures might work in the short term, he said wooden lures were “built to self destruct.”

“Wood fish lures never lasted long in the water. They get a chip or nick and the water gets underneath the paint. They’re not like plastic,” he said.

Despite creating countless lures over his ten years enjoying the hobby, Augustus said he hasn’t amassed a huge collection himself.

“I have a few...if I can afford it,” he said smiling.

Fortunately, there was something at every price point featured at Harbor Fest, from the free activities, to slightly pricier handmade goods.

There were also a handful of food vendors on site, offering snacks ranging from ice cream cones, to freshly made pizzas.

Harbor Fest and many of its activities are presented by the Belfast Rotary Club.

Additional photos here.

Video courtesy of Terry Boivin. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com