Brenna Alley, 17, has a lot on her plate. A formidable basketball player, a senior at Jonesport-Beals High School, the 2024 Miss Maine High School America winner, and a lobsterman, Alley knows what it’s like to be busy. Since the time she was a toddler she has been on a boat. Today she fishes with her father Anson and younger brother in the waters off Jonesport.
Brenna Alley. Photos by L. Alley.
“Being on the water was a magical experience to me from the start. I love it so much that I’ve never been able to complain about early mornings, foul weather, or pitiful catches. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve appreciated the ‘don’t-quit-until-it’s-done’ ethic,” she said.
Alley fishes inshore with her father and brother on Underdog, the first 29-foot Libby. It was her grandfather Ellery “Punk” Alley’s boat, then her father’s. “I imagine a lot of folks will remember the boat from my grandfather’s and dad’s racing days,” she said. Her first boat was a 25-foot inboard named Riff Raff by her father. “He joked that the name suited my brother and me just about right,” she laughed.
Fishing is something woven deeply into the Alley family, as it is within many families in the area. “My buoy colors are the same ones my great-grandfather Arnold fished — black and orange, like a Moxie bottle. I would say that I love the tradition. I love being part of something so much greater than myself,” she said. “It’s tradition and pride and a connection to the past.”
Brenna on the boat, age 8.
Alley first considered a career as a teacher after graduating from high school but a recent surgery caused her to reconsider. “I was really impressed by my nurses,” she said. “It’s a different way of helping people. I will be attending University of Maine at Machias for nursing this fall.”
But in the summer months, or whenever she can, Alley plans to be on the water. “I will keep going with my dad and my brother. Whatever I become from here, I always will be a lobsterman.”
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