Monday, August 17

We decided to splurge on a whale watching boat trip from Lunenburg out into the ocean, especially since it was another beautiful day, sunny with a temperature pushing 80 F. We were in the front of the line to board, so we grabbed seats aft where we'd get a good view. Big mistake. Once the boat (about 50', with about 35 passengers aboard) got into unprotected water, we began to be frequently spashed with bits of the North Atlantic. Not too cold, but not pleasant, either. By the time we'd pounded into seas for about an hour we were well out of sight of land, and in a 3-telephone-pole fog. Not much chance of seeing a whale or anything else. The boat slowed down and cruised around for a long while, and the passengers showed signs of 1. Disappointment, 2. Boredom, and 3. Queasiness. To put the best face on it, we were joking about the captain and the mate going through the motions of whale-spotting, as if they could see any. Finally, darned if a whale didn't blow close by. Suddenly, attitudes changed 180 degrees. The whale sounded and we waited patiently for it to surface again. When it did, the capt. and mate were excited to identify it as a blue whale, the largest species of all, and a rare sight. Only the second one for them this year. The whale surfaced repeatedly, but blue whales are too big to jump out of the water like right whales. But when it rolled above the surface and headed back down, its long back arched above the waves and the more of it's fore part that submerged, more and more of the after portion appeared. When it finally submerged, the water was clear enough that it was still visible for a while, looking like a green sandbar. A very very big whale, and exciting to see.

Lunenburg is due for a visit from Hermione, replica of a French frigate of the same name, circa 1800. The French built the ship over the course of about 15 years, and she was just launched last year. This year is her maiden cruise, and she has called at a number of U.S. ports already. Too bad we won't get to see her here.

Out of sequence, before the whale-watching trip, we spent a while going through a fishing museum on the waterfront. Still under development, but interesting nevertheless.

When we returned to shore from whale watching , I left S at camp for a while and prowled around the waterfront boatshops and shipyards. There is a boatshop which still builds banks dories in the traditional way, in various sizes. A local club races two-person dories, all the same size, about 16'. We could see one of them practicing in the harbor as we had dinner last night. I also spent some time talking with a boatbuilder who helped build two identical 50' schooners which were written up recently in Woodenboat magazine. One was completed and sold; the other is awaiting a buyer, so I was able to get a good look at the hull and quiz him about how it was built. Great fun.