WASHINGTON — Perhaps it was that scene in the movie “The Hunt for Red October,” in which the U.S. Navy steals Mother Russia’s most powerful nuclear submarine and stashes it in an inlet off the coast of Maine.

Willis Lyford, Gov. John R. McKernan’s press secretary, offered another theory.

“Kennebunkport would have given George Bush sort of a home-court advantage. He’s comfortable with the territory. Mikhail Gorbachev may have wanted a level playing field.”

Washington reporters speculated that while Bush has good sea legs and enjoys the ocean, Gorbachev, a comparative landlubber, may have gotten his fill of storm-driven seas during last year’s summit off Malta.

Whatever the reason, the White House and Kremlin have all but ruled out Maine as one of the stops during the upcoming May 30 to June 3 superpower summit, according to spokesmen for the Soviet Embassy, the White House and Gov. McKernan’s office.

Barring last-minute changes, Gorbachev will turn down personal invitations by both Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell and McKernan.

Instead of meeting with Bush at Walker’s Point, Gorbachev is likely to visit Minnesota and California, possibly for a meeting with former President Reagan, the White House announced Tuesday.

State tourism officials lamented the loss. Had a summit stop been scheduled for Maine, the journalists and official personnel assigned to the event could have pumped several million dollars into the Maine economy.

Lyford confirmed that McKernan was told by the White House earlier this month that Kennebunkport had been dropped for serious consideration as one of the summit sites.

“We’re disappointed,” said Jim Thompson, a spokesman for the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

According to Thompson, the worldwide media exposure that Maine would have gotten from a summit event “could have opened doors” for state officials in places such as Western Europe and Japan in their efforts to promote tourism and economic development programs.

According to a White House spokesman, Gorbachev is likely to extend his five-day U.S. summit stay to speak with grain dealers in Minneapolis and academics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

The western swing was an idea that originated with the Soviets, according to the White House. A Soviet Embassy spokesman here said that final details on Gorbachev’s itinerary were being made, but did not dispute the White House announcement.

According to wire service reports, Minnesota Gov. Rudy Perpich said Soviet officials called him Tuesday morning to accept the state’s invitation to Gorbachev. He said the Soviet leader will visit Minnesota from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 3.

Aides to Gov. George Deukmejian told the wire services that Gorbachev had not contacted them about a trip to California.

Staff members in Reagan’s Los Angeles office, however, said Soviet officials contacted them Tuesday about a meeting but that no arrangements had been completed.