JONESPORT – Residents here and from neighboring towns celebrated the Fourth of July with many customs and props that can be found at similar celebrations across the country.

Along with lots of people, there were American flags, pickup trucks, motorcycles, lawn chairs, dogs on leashes, and peals of laughter along the main drag through town and the bridge that connects Jonesport with Beals Island, its neighbor across Moosabec Reach. There were hot dogs and popcorn to eat and, being one of the more distinct fishing communities in Maine, lots of lobster, too.

Unlike many communities across the country, however, many commercial fishing boats came from the local towns and from miles away. If the sight and smell of the ocean sparkling under a sunny sky wasn’t enough of a reminder, the crowds and the frequent roar of boat engines being revved up were signs that things in Maine can be slightly different from elsewhere in America.

Holding organized lobster boat races is definitely one of those things. The sight and sound of the boats speeding along Moosabec Reach, leaving wakes of white ocean spray behind them, were why people from all over eastern Maine converged Wednesday on the local waterfront.

They stood along the northbound lane of the bridge to Beals Island, they sat at the ends of piers on either side of the race course, and they gathered on the water in tightly packed, well-stocked flotillas, catching the action through binoculars and on scanners.

“It doesn’t pay a thing, so we’re doing it all for fun,” local lobster fisherman Charles Smith said after paying the $20 entry fee to register his boat, Sandy Rose, in one of the races.

Bragging rights, he said, aren’t one of the reasons he competes in the annual event.

“I don’t get any,” Smith said. “I’m usually on the low end of the horsepower spectrum. We all can’t win.”

Arvin Young of Corea, a fishing village in Gouldsboro, said that even for those who do win, the bragging rights don’t amount to much.

“You get 15 minutes’ worth,” he said after registering his boat, the 45-foot Laverna Gail, for competition. “It’s all gone after that.”

Young, who fishes and makes commercial and recreational boats with his family at Young Brothers boatyard, said the event also helps serve as a little advertising for their business.

But the main point is to have fun, he said. He and his family have won 160 racing trophies over the years at lobster boat races in Jonesport and elsewhere, he said, but instead of keeping their trophies they peel the labels off and donate them to the Special Olympics.

“This is beautiful,” he said, turning his face toward the sun. “Usually, it’s a thick dungeon of fog.”

On Wednesday morning, 56 trophies were lined up on a table set up outside at the local Coast Guard station. Melanie Alley, chairman of the lobster boat race committee, said the top two finishers in all 28 races receive trophies. Each first-place winner also receives $100 and each runner-up receives $50, she said.

All of the racers also had their names entered in a raffle for the chance to win boating and fishing supplies such as wire traps, diesel engine batteries, rope, a skiff or 45 bushels of bait.

More than 60 boats were entered in Wednesday’s races, ranging from launches less than 16 feet long to boats greater than 40 feet and with 900-horsepower engines. Alley said they used to include recreational boat races for fun but stopped because one year a contestant flipped his boat.

“He took off fast, hit a wave and that was it,” she said. “We don’t do that anymore.”