Sunday, July 15 . . . Whale's Tail

My alarm rings at 6:47 and I slowly climb out of bed, continuing only because I know I’m going to see a dead whale. Hands on work. We drive out to Labrador and the drive seems much longer than usual, but I still notice every lake, every small tree and every wave. The morning starts out foggy in Blanc Sablon, but as we travel the sun begins peering out from behind the mountains. We drive down a dirt road, past a lighthouse and to a cove where the waves are never small. The fog has returned. The horn from the lighthouse is blowing loudly, carried by the wind. The same breeze blows my hair and sends chills down my back. I walk over the uneven stones along the shore. Through the fog a black shape appears in the water, and as I walk closer the humpback comes into sight, floating with the waves, stuck in the surf.

The first thing I notice is the missing fluke. Then I see the gas-filled whale flopping every which way, pushed by the waves. I take down notes as Sophia and Rudolph measure the whale as accurately as they can without entering the water and getting caught in the waves. It measures 25 feet long without the fluke. The usual adult humpback measures between 36 and 45 feet long. We decide it must still be young.

Doing as much as we can, we head back, stopping to climb to the top of the lighthouse; it is the tallest lighthouse in Labrador and Newfoundland. At the top we can see the neighboring town and the water extending to the horizon. The foghorn is loud in our ears and the light is bright in our eyes.

On the way home, we stop in the store and talk to some locals. We find out that the whale was caught in a fisherman’s capelin net, and they cut off the tail to untangle it. However, the whale had a mysterious hole in it and the fishermen had not called the DFO when they first saw it was tangled. We drive to the next town, where an iceberg floats by; it is as large as a four-bedroom house. It clearly stands out against the aqua blue of the ocean. As we continue to talk to locals we learn that the tail has appeared in Forteau. Forteau is two towns away from Blanc Sablon so we turn around and head back.

We drive onto a side street in Forteau and come to a little beach next to the wharf. About 30 feet out floats a black and white blur. We attempt to take pictures, when suddenly it hits me. I’ve been wanting to go swimming ever since I’ve seen a wave break on the shore up north, so I roll up my pants, take off my socks and shoes and my sweatshirt and begin walking in. I feel the cold water on my toes but the adrenaline pumps through me. By the time the water has come up to my knees I am completely numb and have no control of my feet. I continue moving my heavy legs until the water reaches my pants, and I know there is no turning back. As I keep walking I don’t even realize that I am right at the tail and the water is up to my waste. My waterproof case is on my camera so I begin taking pictures of the fluke, catching the design. The white and black outline design is used to identify each whale. Rudolph yells at me to pick the tail up. Nervous, I call for the gloves from Sophia. She balls them up and Rudolph throws them out to me. I head down into the ice water until only my head is out of the water. I realize the tail is too deep and too heavy for me to pick up from the rod of the tail. Rudolph suggests I lift up the corner of the fluke with my foot. Still feeling disconnected from my legs and feet I follow his directions and reach down to grab it. With the help of the water I drag it until my frozen muscles can't move anymore.

I get back to shore on numb legs. Frozen, I put my sweatshirt on, unroll my pants, and pull my socks over my sandy feet. In the car they turn the heat up so I stop shivering. I finally gain feeling in my whole body and am anxious to take a warm shower. We arrive home; I clean up and call my mom, unable to sleep from all the excitement. I rest for the rest of day, rewarding myself with a day of laziness.