{"id":21069,"date":"2022-04-28T09:52:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=21069"},"modified":"2022-04-28T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T13:53:30","slug":"episode-574-whale-watching-in-strait-of-belle-isle-frightening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=21069","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 574 WHALE WATCHING IN STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE….FRIGHTENING"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 574    WHALE WATCHING IN STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE\u2026.FRIGHTENING<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
april 2022<\/div>\n

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The rocky eastern shore of Newfoundland was strewn with lobster traps\u2026some bashed up but most could<\/div>\n
be easily repaired.   Seemed a loss that we could help relieve.  So began our Lobster Trap Rescue<\/div>\n

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Our fishing had not been too successful using fishing rods.  Great schools of capelin rolled onto<\/div>\n
the eastern beaches of Newfoundland not  far from, St. John\u2019s. <\/div>\n

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  Then we cut straight across the<\/div>\n
island to the western beaches along the Strait of Belle Isle where a big surprise awaited us.<\/div>\n
Really big.  Terrifyingly big<\/div>\n

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\u201cWould your boys like to go whale watching here?\u201d<\/div>\n
said the first person we met on the banks of the Strait of Belle Isle.<\/div>\n

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We were on the long road to L\u2019Anse aux Meadows.  Just taking our time as the road was delightfully<\/div>\n
wild and the Strait of Belle Isle was easy to access as we coddled along.  Two adults, two kids, two dogs,<\/div>\n
three bicycles, two lobster traps, one pop up camper, one well used Ford van\u2026and all the other stuff<\/div>\n
needed for a cross Canada summer trip living as close to the land as possible.<\/div>\n

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In earlier episodes I described the capelin roll and also our rescue of some lost lobster traps that we decided to<\/div>\n
return to the owners\u2026see picture above.   Note Marjorie is still wearing her bikini.  The year was circa 1980 (mistake<\/div>\n
in episode 573 where I said 1970)<\/div>\n

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From our campsite we could see a small Newfoundland village  of less than a dozen buildings  with open rowboats<\/div>\n
bobbing in a rock enclosed harbour.  An easy walk carrying a perfect hand made lobster trap.  <\/div>\n

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 \u201cBrought back<\/div>\n
this trap that you must have lost.\u201d  Expected thanks but just to an indifferent shrug.   \u201cGovernment pays for the<\/div>\n
losses\u2026nn need to rescue them.\u201d  <\/div>\n

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I know that sounded hostile but it was not.  Just a statement of the facts by a young fisherman<\/div>\n
who was really quite friendly.  <\/div>\n

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\u201cWould your boys like to go whale watching?”<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe would love to do that, dad\u2026Can we?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSuppose so\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI will get the motor gassed up\u2026you can wade through the water<\/div>\n
to the boat\u2026only waste deep.\u201d, he said while i was trying to translate<\/div>\n
the message on his T shirt which seemed to say \u201cHard work can’t<\/div>\n
 hurt Yah BUT I\u2019m not taking any chances.\u201d  This was a young man<\/div>\n
with a sense of humour.  Too bad I have forgotten his name\u2026and the<\/div>\n
name of the village.  Maybe I could find the place from the satellite but<\/div>\n
no time.    <\/div>\n

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THEN THE REAL ADVENTURE BEGAN<\/div>\n

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We were not too far offshore when the first whale appeared\u2026maybe two whales or more. <\/div>\n
Could have been a Minki whale or perhaps a pod of dolphins.<\/div>\n

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One thing for sure.  As we proceeded the whales ran under our boat\u2026just barely.<\/div>\n

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\u201cDo the whales know we are here?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026they have eyes and ears\u2026better than ours.\u201d<\/div>\n

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Up to this point Andrew and Kevin were leaning over the rim of<\/div>\n
the boat.  Once a whale slipped by about 10 feet from us\u2026and parallel <\/div>\n
to us.  Andrew hit the bottom of our boat .  Full body slam.<\/div>\n

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Those dark blurs are part of whatever pod of whales or dolphins were playing with us.<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is their playground\u2026not ours.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs there a chance they will lift our boat ?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot likely.\u201d<\/div>\n
(which meant it was possible)<\/div>\n
\u201cThese creatures are longer than our boat.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhales.  What would you expect.”<\/div>\n

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Then something really big surfaced.  Too close for comfort.   Looked like a Humpback whale fin splashing.<\/div>\n
Really big whatever it was.   We began to see whales where no whales existed.  The dark blue patches<\/div>\n
of the Strait of Belle Isle water looked like whales.  <\/div>\n

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Andrew did not see them because he stayed on the boat below eye level.  Unusual for him.<\/div>\n

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This whale \u2026 only got part of him \u2026slipped by so close that it seemed touchable<\/div>\n
All of us were worried.<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat happens if a whale lifts our boat\u2026dumps us.  We have no life jackets.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLife jackets are no use here.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou must be kidding.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWater is so cold we could never reach shore\u2026Hypothermia would get us.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBloody dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot really.  The whales are just curious.   No evil intent.  Sometimes I think<\/div>\n
they even know who I am.”<\/div>\n
\"Blue<\/div>\n

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I did not take these last two whale  pictures.  A pair of humpback whales.  Get the size of them\u2026more than twice the size of our boat;<\/div>\n

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\"Whales<\/div>\n

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Just imagine if these two humpbacks decided to show off beside our boat.<\/div>\n
If they did we would all join Andrew flat out on the bottom of the boat.  Or, worse,<\/div>\n
at the bottom of the Strait of Belle Isle.<\/div>\n

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Why did I not take more pictures?  I needed to grip the gunwales of the boat  with both hands.<\/div>\n
why are the sides called gunwales anyway.  I hope the whales do not hear that word. <\/div>\n
They might get angry.  Why?  The word \u2018gun\u2019 spliced onto the word \u2018wales\u2019 <\/div>\n
sounds bloody unfriendly.  I read Moby Dick long ago.  Scared me back then.<\/div>\n

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Close up whale watching in an overgrown rowboat is not advisable.<\/div>\n

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But the young fisherman was a great example of Newfoundland friendliness.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
april 2022<\/div>\n

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post script:   The Strait of Belle Isle is a perfect whale watching site as it forms a<\/div>\n
natural pathway from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the cool Arctic waters.<\/div>\n
Why would whales want to use this chute?  Lots of capelin\u2026thousands and thousands of<\/div>\n
those little sardine sized fish<\/div>\n
are needed to fill a whale\u2019s tummy.<\/div>\n

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EPISODE 574    WHALE WATCHING IN STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE\u2026.FRIGHTENING alan skeoch april 2022 The rocky eastern shore of Newfoundland was strewn with lobster traps\u2026some bashed up but most could be easily repaired.   Seemed a loss that we could help relieve.  So began our Lobster Trap Rescue Our fishing had not been too successful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}