>> RICHARD WIESE: From New England's soft, sandy beaches to rugged granite shores, our Atlantic coastline is a place of beauty and wonder, lapping along five of the six New England states and drawing visitors from around the world.

♪ ♪ We have hit lobster!

This week, we start in Ogunquit, Maine.

>> Ogunquit... >> WIESE: Ogunquit, Ogunquit.

...named by Yankee magazine as the best beach town in New England, to catch some of the best lobsters in the country.

>> It's clean, it's friendly, it's hip.

The beach is absolutely beautiful.

♪ ♪ >> WIESE: Next, we travel north to a rocky cove near Acadia National Park, where we create an authentic Maine clam bake, right down to the red snapper hot dogs.

>> We are under the gun.

The tide is coming in, and we are going to be washed away.

>> TRAVERSO: Wow, look at that!

>> WIESE: Very good presentation, guys.

♪ ♪ And then it's back to New England basics with a lesson in traditional boatbuilding in Newport, Rhode Island.

>> Basically, the restoration is an excuse to build exquisite boats.

♪ ♪ >> WIESE: Come along for a captivating journey through New England, as you've never seen it before.

A true insider's guide from the editors of Yankee magazine.

I'm Richard Wiese, adventurer, explorer, New Englander.

I've spent my life traveling the world, but now have embarked on a new journey in this remarkable place that I call home.

Join me and Yankee food editor Amy Traverso for the ultimate trip through New England.

From the people that know it best.

♪ ♪ >> Funding provided by: ♪ ♪ >> ANNOUNCER: The Vermont Country Store, purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find, a family-owned tradition since 1946.

Merchandise and products from around the block and around the world.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ANNOUNCER: Family Tree Magazine-- articles, podcasts, online courses, and webinar resources for discovering, preserving, and celebrating family history.

>> ANNOUNCER: Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?

♪ ♪ >> WIESE: Ogunquit, Maine.

The name means "beautiful place by the sea" in the language of the native Abenaki people.

And I promise you, it is.

It's an incredibly charming small town that sits on the coast, halfway between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine, with its sandy beaches, great restaurants, and scenic walks.

I wanted to see it for myself, so I jumped in my car to meet up with Grant Hubbard, a boat captain and lobsterman who told me the best way to discover his hometown for the first time is by sea.

Captain Hubbard, nice to meet you.

>> Nice to have you.

You too, my pleasure.

>> WIESE: So, is this our ride?

>> This is our ride, come right aboard.

>> WIESE: I'm very excited.

♪ ♪ So, you've been coming here since you were a kid?

>> Well, I came here as an infant.

"Boating before birth" is the term we use.

My mother carried me around for all those months on this boat before I was actually born.

>> WIESE: On this actual boat?

>> Yeah.

>> WIESE: No kidding.

So, how old is this boat?

>> This boat was built in 1957.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> Five years before I was built.

(Richard chuckles) >> WIESE: In Ogunquit, I mean, obviously, it's got an interesting name.

>> Let's start over.

"Oh-gun-quit"... >> WIESE: "Oh-gun-quit."

>> Ogunquit, yeah.

>> WIESE: Yeah, Ogunquit.

>> Yeah, it's an interesting name, an Abenaki Indian name.

We have a lot of rocks.

It's impossible to mark them all by the Coast Guard.

So, it's a lot of local knowledge involved.

>> WIESE: Do you feel like you know this area like the back of your hand?

>> I definitely do.

(chuckles) The back of your hand would be a day when it's so foggy, you couldn't see the land from here.

That's the real challenge.

(Richard laughs) >> Maine's famous for its bold shoreline.

A bold shoreline is that that drops off immediately at the ocean's edge.

So, we're still in 12 feet of water right here.

Glad you had the courage... >> WIESE: You clearly know what you're doing.

I'm impressed.

(Wiese applauds) >> First thing I learned is to keep smiling.

Never show them that you're sweating it out.

>> WIESE: No, I'm not sweating-- obviously, I know... >> No, that's my job.

♪ ♪ Let's head up the beach.

>> WIESE: Do you mind if I take the wheel?

>> I think it would be great.

Let's see what you got.

>> WIESE: For me, it's a real privilege to drive a boat like this.

>> You're doing well.

>> WIESE: Oh, thank you, I'm going straight.

This is one of the most lobster-intense places in the world, right?

>> It's the most lobster-intense place in the world.

>> WIESE: So, what makes it so good?

>> Well, the fact that we have very clean water.

It's very cold; it's very high in nutrients, very fertile fishing grounds not far from here.

And it's a massive coastline.

>> WIESE: So, we're in relatively shallow water.

>> 32 feet right here.

>> WIESE: One of the amazing things I've always found about lobsters is you'll find them in down to, what, about 2,000 feet?

>> Yeah, 3,000 feet.

>> WIESE: That's pretty incredible.

>> They live from Labrador to North Carolina.

It's the only place in the world they live.

But most of them are in Maine.

>> WIESE: All right, Captain, let's get a lobster.

♪ ♪ >> We use a gaff, that's how we get the buoy on the boat.

Put it on the davit and around the hauler.

>> WIESE: We have hit lobsters!

It's a male.

>> Let's see if he's too big.

See, it's just right within that range.

It's almost the biggest we can keep in Maine.

One that was much bigger would have to go back.

That's to ensure that we'll have mates for all those big breeding females.

♪ ♪ We have our little ingenious lobster bander.

Size of our lobster wrench.

This is kind of a double bander.

Actually, let's get the rest of these guys up.

That one's just barely legal-- see that?

So, this one's a keeper.

See, that one's just a little bit short.

Another male... And another keeper.

>> WIESE: A keeper, yeah.

Any time you catch any more than one per trap, you're doing well.

>> WIESE: All right, so let's bait the next one.

>> This is what we call a four-foot trap.

They really don't see the trap very well, but they'll smell that piece of fish from a very long way away.

They'll find their way in through the trap, mingle at the bait.

Before long, they think, "Oh, it's time to go," thinking that must be the way out-- that's how they got in.

No.

>> WIESE: Okay.

>> Good to go.

♪ ♪ >> WIESE: Yup, got lobsters in this one too.

Wow, pretty good haul.

>> That's called a Jonah crab.

>> WIESE: Yeah, a Jonah crab-- and these, you could eat these, for sure.

>> That's what I had for lunch.

And that is a female.

>> WIESE: A female, okay.

>> See the little feathery guys?

>> WIESE: Yeah, a little wider at the base of the tail.

>> Yeah, it's not really apparent until they get bigger and bigger.

And that is a keeper.

>> WIESE: Wow, this one's really big.

>> Excellent, I was hoping we would catch one with eggs so you guys could see.

>> WIESE: So, how many eggs are we looking at?

>> That'll be probably 10,000 eggs or probably more.

>> WIESE: 10,000 eggs!

>> See the V notch right there?

That was done by a lobsterman previous to me.

When this lobster was caught originally, it had eggs.

The V was put in.

And it's probably been caught several times, okay.

(Richard laughs) Every time it's caught, the lobsterman's going to see that V notch, recognize it as a breeding female, and know to throw it back.

>> WIESE: So, live long and breed-- okay.

>> Just throw her back upside down so we don't throw the eggs off her.

Nice.

♪ ♪ (horn blares) >> WIESE: So, now that I've seen Ogunquit by sea... ...it was time to see it by land.

>> Ready, Richard?

>> WIESE: Yeah, I'm ready.

And head over to Ogunquit Beach.

♪ ♪ >> This is like the path to the surf.

>> WIESE: It's a path to heaven.

You can smell the salt breeze.

>> Ah, you can feel it in your nose.

>> WIESE: This is spectacular.

I mean, I feel like I'm looking at a beach in Hawaii or California.

>> It's our own little piece of Maui right here in Maine.

>> WIESE: This has such a different look at low tide.

>> It's a whole different world at low tide.

>> WIESE: Coming to Maine, I expected nice, beautiful, rocky coasts, but to see this spectacular white sandy beach is something that I'll never forget.

I think what I'm enjoying most is I see little separate scenes.

I see two little girls playing in a tidal pool.

I see surfers.

I see people fishing.

You know, all sorts of activities, and the magic of low tide is there are no rules.

Because all of this gets swept away in another hour or so.

>> It's really pretty unique.

>> WIESE: When you tell people, "I am from Ogunquit," what makes you proud to say that?

>> I think because anybody that comes here is never going to be dissatisfied with their visit.

And everyone that I speak with is just blown away, you know.

They all come back.

That's how I know it's a great place.

>> WIESE: "Oh-gun-quit," right?

>> "Beautiful place by the sea."

>> WIESE: Beautiful place by the sea.

They had it right.

♪ ♪ The Ovens: it's a natural wonder of sharp granite rock carved into shallow caves by the sea.

Located just outside Acadia National Park, the Ovens are only accessible by kayak, unless you happen to own property nearby.

Lucky for chef Andrew Taylor, he grew up summering here at his family's home called "Eventide," a name that he and his partner, Mike Wiley, chose for their award-winning Portland oyster bar.

>> It's a good-looking fire.

>> WIESE: Yankee food editor Amy Traverso is a huge fan of their modern take on seafood classics, so we were delighted when Andrew invited us to enjoy a classic Maine clam bake here in this paradise, courtesy of the best chefs in Maine.

>> TRAVERSO: So, Eventide is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland, which is really my favorite food town in New England.

And they're making us the classic New England clam bake.

>> WIESE: Hey, guys.

>> TRAVERSO: Hey!

>> Hey guys, welcome.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having us.

>> Absolutely.

>> TRAVERSO: This is so exciting.

>> WIESE: Hi, I'm Richard Wiese.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh, excuse me.

Hi, I'm Amy.

>> Andrew.

>> Amy, nice to meet you.

I'm Mike Wiley.

>> WIESE: Richard Wiese.

>> Richard, a pleasure.

>> WIESE: Wow, you've got the hard work already done here, made a fire.

>> TRAVERSO: Feels so good.

I understand these are called "The Ovens."

>> The Ovens.

>> TRAVERSO: So, what is this?

>> It's a sort of interesting geological formation that sort of has a long history here on MDI, Mount Desert Island.

>> WIESE: As many clam bakes, or lobster bakes, as I've ever been to, I've never done something in a place called The Ovens.

You know, which is kind of neat in itself.

>> Traditionally, clam bakes are dug into the ground in sand beaches.

We're not digging into this rock.

We have this steel pan that we had fabricated for this purpose.

>> It's almost like a crawfish boil.

We're just looking to try to get a whole lot of stuff cooking away in seaweed and seawater steam, and you end up with a nice amalgamation of flavors.

>> Yeah, we got to get to that seaweed picking because we are under the gun.

The tide is coming in about to here and we are going to be washed away.

>> TRAVERSO: All right, well then, let's get moving.

>> All right, so this is rockweed, found all along the coast of Maine.

>> WIESE: Wow, that's tough.

>> Yeah, I mean, it's edible.

It's not particularly delicious.

But it makes for a great cooking vessel.

>> Oh, little green crab-- look at that guy.

>> TRAVERSO: Isn't that beautiful?

Okay.

>> I got another load.

>> TRAVERSO: Got enough?

Hey... >> WIESE: Hello-- hi, I'm Richard.

>> Arlin, nice to meet you.

>> WIESE: Hey Arlin, nice to meet you too.

>> TRAVERSO: So, Arlin is the classically trained chef in the group, and he actually manages the restaurants.

>> I'm babying the fire right now.

Once this bed is satisfied, that's when we build the clam bake.

>> Don't drop the potatoes.

>> I won't drop the potatoes.

>> We've got mussels.

>> You want to put it over here?

>> Absolutely.

We've got a tray of accompaniments here.

>> WIESE: Yes, and, you know, all right, I'm already seeing some variations on the traditional clam bake.

>> It's not too far from it.

There's almost always a pork product included.

Potatoes, eggs, shellfish, lobster.

>> TRAVERSO: You know, the eggs are new to me, actually.

I have not seen eggs in a clam bake before.

>> Time is of the essence.

>> We've got to grab some sea water.

All right.

>> WIESE: Okay, why don't you pass that one to me?

Got it... >> Beautiful.

>> The tide is a-coming.

>> We've got a good hot fire going.

That's what we need to see.

So, now we're layering seaweed on the bottom.

>> TRAVERSO: Smells so good.

>> Hear the crackle of burning sea vegetables.

>> WIESE: Could be the screaming little green crab.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh no... poor little guy.

A spa would charge a lot of money just to, like, stick your face right here.

>> Exactly.

>> Absolutely.

>> All right, potatoes, we can run with that.

>> Yeah, we'll go pork and hot dogs.

>> TRAVERSO: What's the tradition of those red hot dogs?

>> It is red dye three now.

These are specific to Maine.

Apparently, there used to be one guy that when he made the hot dogs, they turned red, due to some sort of bacterial... (laughing) But they tasted great and everybody loved them.

>> At our restaurant, at Eventide, we serve a New-England-style clam bake in a steamer basket, pack it in seaweed, so you get all that really nice briny aromatic stuff going on.

>> We've had cooks who are, like, "You're a coward if you're not removing those rubber bands beforehand," but I think there's a, I don't know, there's a certain amount of showboating involved there.

>> And you shifted it that one more time?

>> WIESE: I mean, I love this is sort of like dinner theater.

>> And that's that.

>> TRAVERSO: So, how much time do we need for this to cook?

>> Should take about an hour and a half.

So, we can go enjoy the day here for a little bit.

>> WIESE: All right, great.

♪ ♪ I've noticed the tide has come up quite a bit.

>> Oh yeah, absolutely.

I think it's lunch time.

If we don't get over there pretty quickly, the ocean's going to take back its lunch.

>> WIESE: Oh boy... okay.

>> All right: one, two, three... everyone feeling good?

>> WIESE: Oh, wow.

>> Look at those guys.

>> TRAVERSO: Gorgeous.

It smells like happiness.

It smells a lot like lobster and kind of smoked seaweed.

>> WIESE: Throw the mussels in?

>> TRAVERSO: Gosh, you don't want to miss a steamer or a mussel... >> WIESE: You know, guys, I think the timing was perfect.

The water's about to put the fire out.

Uh-oh, there it goes.

>> TRAVERSO: It's about to go out.

>> WIESE: Almost on cue.

>> TRAVERSO: Wow, look at that!

>> All right, and here comes the soot.

>> WIESE: It's like Hawaii.

Wow, look at that, that is neat.

>> TRAVERSO: Look at that!

Very good presentation, guys.

(Traverso cheering) >> TRAVERSO: Wow.

>> So, I think we should take our cue.

>> TRAVERSO: Oh my gosh, this is so good.

Look how beautiful.

>> WIESE: This is five stars-- this is six stars.

>> TRAVERSO: Yeah, absolutely.

>> WIESE: No, really, I can't think of a place...

I love eating outdoors.

>> TRAVERSO: More beautiful setting, more delicious food.

Yeah, let's do it.

This is unbelievable, this is so good.

>> Ready?

Want to eat some food?

>> So, if you guys are interested, we brought some steamed buns from the restaurant.

Throw some clams in there, throw a little hot dog in there.

Man, we have some big lobsters here.

These guys are not messing around.

>> TRAVERSO: I have never had a better clam bake.

This is incredible.

>> WIESE: It's an honor for us to have such a great meal with such a beautiful setting, so thank you very much for this.

>> TRAVERSO: Thank you so much.

>> It's our pleasure.

>> Cheers.

>> TRAVERSO: To Maine, to Eventide.

>> WIESE: Let's have some more lobstahs.

♪ ♪ New England has long depended on the ocean and ships for commerce.

In fact, boatbuilding has been a leading industry here for hundreds of years.

But of all the watercraft that we associate with the New England coast, wooden boats are my favorite.

I even built a skiff of my own a few years back.

Following my passion, today, I'm heading over to the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, Rhode Island, a town known as the sailing capital of the world.

It's here that a new generation of New England boat builders is mastering the craft.

I'm going to meet up with instructor and wooden boat enthusiast Warren Barker, who starts our visit by giving me a tour of one of J.P. Morgan's old boats.

Can I come on board?

>> Yes, yes, come right aboard.

Come right on.

>> WIESE: Oh, thank you.

>> Just step on the teak, I think we'll be okay.

>> WIESE: Yeah, I know this is teak.

Tell me something about this particular boat.

>> It was built in 1939.

And J.P. Morgan had a small motor vessel, Corsair.

It was 341 feet long.

>> WIESE: Small yacht, okay.

>> So, he used to park it out on the Hudson River and he had these launches that would jitney the mover-and-shakers in the financial world back and forth.

>> WIESE: You know, I have to admit, I look at this, and my first instinct is I want to run my hand across it.

It's just... >> Oh, don't worry-- I do.

>> WIESE: It is smooth as glass.

Can we go to the bow?

>> Sure, sure.

As I said... >> WIESE: I feel like I can slide across the table.

>> Yeah.

It has a giant engine in it.

>> WIESE: I mean, this must be a tremendous amount of maintenance to keep this so...

I mean, this is really pristine.

It seems that the craftsmanship of wood boat building is becoming more and more special.

>> It's quite seductive.

I mean, the wood is beautiful.

>> WIESE: I'd love to see the inside of the school.

>> Well, let's go check it out.

>> WIESE: This is gorgeous.

This is really beautiful.

I even like the smell of it.

>> In this building, we restore boats.

Basically, the restoration is an excuse to build exquisite boats.

>> WIESE: There's something so wonderful about looking at wood in its raw state.

>> We build boats out of wood because we're dealing in traditional techniques.

What we find is that, by learning to work in wood, that it has excellent hand training.

At the end, if you have restored a wooden boat, you have truly accomplished something rare.

>> WIESE: What's interesting to me and what sort of appealed to me first about boatbuilding is that you actually take a felled tree, and it's round, and it's got bark like you see here, and then you create a plank.

So, it's interesting that just to even build a plank is a lot of work.

>> Yes, they can't just go buy a two-by-four and screw it together.

They actually have to create each plank of that boat.

There's a gang down here, and they're going to bend some frame on this, these molds, and what happens is, the heat, the lignin is what holds the fibers together in a stick of white oak-- this is white oak-- and it loosens when you heat it.

All right, he's off.

Follow that man.

You see, there we go, so you can bend it, and then, when it cools, it will retain that shape.

>> WIESE: Gets its rigidity.

Yep.

>> See, so you just capture it down there, and then they wrap it.

>> WIESE: So, this is pretty fast, I mean... >> Yeah, you have to move right along.

The bigger the section, the longer you have.

And the key is not to panic.

There you go, you can see how he...

This is green, so this is fresh out of the tree.

>> WIESE: So, it's pretty flexible.

>> Yeah, these guys are aces by now.

What I enjoy particularly about building boats at IYRS is that it's not only that you build an exquisite thing that has to float in the end, but you work with a new and interesting gang of people as students every year.

It's an excitement that you see in their faces too, so it's a symbiotic thing.

>> So, here's the... >> WIESE: Transom, back of the boat.

>> Here's the back of the boat.

So that will lay right in like that.

Okay, and then the stem, which is the bow of the boat, is being built right here.

And that will lay in, and then you wrap planks around it.

And I really must admit, when you put it in the water... >> WIESE: Yeah... yeah.

>> It's great.

>> WIESE: That's a great feeling.

So, is this where your finished boats are?

>> Well, there's a 131-foot schooner being restored in here.

America's most historic yacht.

>> WIESE: Ah, it's open, thank you.

>> Okay.

>> WIESE: Wow.

That is just... it's massive.

>> She's... this kind of puts everything in context.

>> WIESE: Yeah, how does one restore this?

This is just ginormous.

>> It's difficult, to say the least.

The boat was in such hard shape, it had a rubber sort of diaper around it, and it was in the water.

>> WIESE: How many years will this take?

>> Quite a while.

>> WIESE: Can we walk up there?

>> Oh yeah.

>> WIESE: Look at this.

>> It's a beautiful thing.

There's a really, really good crew of people working on it.

>> WIESE: And what kind of wood is this?

>> This is white oak.

>> WIESE: White oak, so there's a lot of thick plank.

I mean, these planks are, I'll tell you how many inches... What are they, three inches?

>> I think so, two-and-a-half or three.

>> WIESE: Three, yeah.

>> These planks are held on by wooden nails.

And there's a wedge on the inside that splits it and holds it to the frame.

>> WIESE: Now that I'm disappointed that this isn't your boat-- I'm only kidding-- do you have a finished boat here?

>> We have several.

So, over here, we have the prototype for the electric launch that they are building, also in the first year.

And, as you can see, it's a little smaller than Corsair.

>> WIESE: But nevertheless, I mean... >> Kind of classy.

>> WIESE: Oh my gosh.

And this would be electric.

>> There's everything.

>> WIESE: And how long can this run before you need to charge it?

>> Well, on launch day, we ran it all, all afternoon, so, four hours or so, and it worked great.

>> WIESE: An electric launch.

>> Just like your Tesla.

>> WIESE: Your students are very lucky to have you.

>> Ah, they make it all possible.

I get to build boats with a gang.

>> WIESE: Well, thank you very much.

>> Well, you're welcome.

>> WIESE: And I'm going to pull my car up to the front, and pull it away.

(Barker chuckling) ♪ ♪ >> NARRATOR: For exclusive video, recipes, travel ideas, tips from the editors, and access to the Weekends With Yankee digital magazine, go to weekendswithyankee.com and follow us on social media, @yankeemagazine.

Yankee magazine, the inspiration for the television series, provides recipes, feature articles, and the best of New England from the people who know it best.

Six issues for $10.

Call 1-800-221-8154. Credit cards accepted.

>> ANNOUNCER: Major funding provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ANNOUNCER: The Vermont Country Store, purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find, a family-owned tradition since 1946.

Merchandise and products from around the block and around the world.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ANNOUNCER: Family Tree Magazine-- articles, podcasts, online courses, and webinar resources for discovering, preserving, and celebrating family history.

>> ANNOUNCER: Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts-- the first public park in America; the first fried clams; the first university in America; the first basketball game.

What's first for you?