{"id":7120,"date":"2020-12-24T18:42:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-24T23:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7120"},"modified":"2020-12-24T18:45:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T23:45:38","slug":"episode-206-lobster-trap-rescue-in-strait-of-belle-isle-newfooundland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7120","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 206 LOBSTER TRAP RESCUE IN STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE, NEWFOOUNDLAND"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
EPISODE 206  THE LOBSTER TRAP RESCUE  IN THE STRAIT OF  BELLE ISLE, NEWFOUNDLAND<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec. 24, 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
GIFT TO ANDREW AND  KEVIN FROM DAD AND MOM (CHRISTMAS 2020)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When you were little boys.  Before you became teen agers and would<\/div>\n
find  your parents less  dominant in your lives.  Before those teen  age<\/div>\n
years  which we thought might be  difficult.  (Which turned out to be  untrue.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Marjorie and I decided that the best gift we could  give you would be Canada.<\/div>\n
So we planned to give you Canada.  We  bought a used  pop up tent trailer made<\/div>\n
of chip board and canvas.  Camping seemed the best way to give you Canada.<\/div>\n
We wanted you to touch the earth.  We wanted  you to realize how lucky you\u2019re<\/div>\n
to live in the second largest country on earth.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That means at least two grand  trips.  First to the east to dip your feet in the Atlantic Ocean<\/div>\n
and then to the west to put bigger feet in the Pacific  Ocean.   The trips could have been<\/div>\n
miserable failures with us  pulling you across Canada like a pair of stubborn mules.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So, for the first trip, we bought a  pair of handcuffs.   You were both going with us<\/div>\n
whether you liked  it or not.   The dogs too\u2026Sonny and Daisy\u2026both Labradors. And a lot of other stuff<\/div>\n
like  four bicycles, a Coleman stove, pile of groceries and a first aid kit.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

OUR TRIP TO NEWFOUNDLAND\u2026.2 KIDS, 2 DOGS,  4 BIKES, 1 TRAILER, 1 TRUCK, MARJORIE AND ME.<\/p>\n


<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The trip East was terrific.  Most of the trip you remember because you talk about it but this fragment you may have forgotten.<\/div>\n
We crossed  to Newfoundland on a big car ferry..overnight\u2026sleeping with other Newfoundlanders on the floor as it lifted<\/div>\n
and  fell.  Then we drove west to Gros MorNe Park where another ferry took us over  a short patch of water.  Remember the fish and<\/div>\n
chip store?  Real Newfoundland fried fish.   Complete with a long white worm in my chunk which amused you both.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then we drove  up the coast alongside the Strait of Bell Isle heading towards St. Anthony and the wonder of the Viking<\/div>\n
settlement at L\u2019Ans aux Meadows.  Eric  the Red had landed and lived here 400 years before Columbus.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We  camped part way up the road.   Alone on the Newfoundland shore.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cYou boys own this country\u2026did  you know that?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This story is about that camp.   By then the four bicycles strapped on the front of the truck were becoming a hazard so<\/div>\n
we gave two of them to a Newfoundlander we met.  He was overjoyed.   Told us about the water.  \u201cWhales out there\u2026lots  of<\/div>\n
them.  And lobsters by the truckload.  And codfish.  A good land, mind you.\u201d   We had camped earlier on the west <\/div>\n
side of Newfoundland and seen thousands of tiny fish flip flopping and eventually dying on the rocky beaches.<\/div>\n
Newfoundlanders gathered buckets of them  and hung them  on clotheslines with pegs.  \u201cGood eating\u2026that\u2019s why<\/div>\n
the whales are after them.  They try to escape and end up on the beach.  Millions of them survive but millions<\/div>\n
also die.  Good eating.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAny capelins here on the Strait of  Belle  Isle>\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope but lots of other creatures.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow do you  make a living?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLobsters\u2026trap them in season\u2026sell them  to the three piece suit <\/div>\n
people  back in Toronto.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Here,  a bushel  or two of live capelin have attracted  DAISY AND SONNY \u2026 dogs that became a fisherman.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This was a nice camping spot so we stayed  for two days or longer.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That was  when we discovered the lobster traps\u2026dozens of them washed up on the rocky shore.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Some smashed all to hell<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Others that were perfect.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“Let\u2019s see how many lobster traps we can collect, boys\u2026stack  them up neatly.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCan we fill the truck with them, Dad?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026pile them on the roof\u2026three or four high\u2026see<\/div>\n
how they hold when we rev the truck up to 70 miles per hour.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat can we do with them?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, there\u2019s a fishing village up the shore a bit.  I bet these<\/div>\n
are their traps.  Maybe we can carry them back to them.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd so began our Lobster Trap Rescue Episode.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cThese must be your lobster traps?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cReckon they could be.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe have gathered up a pile of them way up he shore\u2026done this for you\u2026<\/div>\n
we even carried some  to your village.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWish you had not done that boys.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBecause we get a  government grant to cover<\/div>\n
lost lobster traps.  The more you boys bring<\/div>\n
back here,  the less we get.  Understand?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Kevin and Andrew did not understand.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The  Newfoundlanders had a better idea.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHow  would you boys like to meet a whale?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMeet a whale?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026we can motor out a ways and meet a whale for  sure..<\/div>\n
maybe more than one.   Ask your mom and  dad.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And so we went whale searching\u2026using a little motor boat\u2026outboard motor.  Just enough<\/div>\n
room for the four of us  and the Newfoundland crew of one.   Low in the gunwales.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I did not expect we would meet a whale.  But I was wrong.  We met two or<\/div>\n
three.  Animals  far bigger than our little boat.  Animals that seemed to<\/div>\n
know where we were.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“Remember what you did when  one whale  swam up and under our boat, Andrew?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou dived down on the floor of the boat and would not look.”<\/div>\n
\u201cI Felt like joining you”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cDad,  do we really own this country\u2026this Canada?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe do\u2026we really do.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMakes me feel  good, dad.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\/<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Dec. 2020<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 206  THE LOBSTER TRAP RESCUE  IN THE STRAIT OF  BELLE ISLE, NEWFOUNDLAND alan skeoch Dec. 24, 2020 GIFT TO ANDREW AND  KEVIN FROM DAD AND MOM (CHRISTMAS 2020) When you were little boys.  Before you became teen agers and would find  your parents less  dominant in your lives.  Before those teen  age years  which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7120","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}