Bonavista, Whales & Birds

2100 Sunday August 28

We left the wharf at Lumsden at 0710 this morning for the 45 mile run past Cape Freels and across the wide mouth of Bonavista Bay. We motored early on. Before long we had the main and genoa set and were motorsailing. As the breeze filled in we cut the engine and had a spectacular sail across Bonavista Bay. The sun was glinting off a smooth sea and we were gliding along beautifully on what felt like a crisp fall day. Shortly after 1600 we arrived at the small green buoy at the entrance to Bonavista Harbour. Bonavista is one of the bigger towns outside of St. John’s in Newfoundland. About 3.500 people make their home here. There is a large man-made harbor with protection by two massive breakwaters. Once inside, we tied to a floating dock and headed ashore.

Bonavista takes its name from explorer John Cabot’s remark upon sighting this headland and bay in 1497. It is truly a “beautiful view” with the town neatly sprawling across the shore and wild mountains and hills to either side. At the head of our dock is an unusual shed that houses a detailed, full scale replica of John Cabot’s ship, the Matthew; the replica was built for the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s European discover of Newfoundland. (Of course, Newfoundland was already settled by native peoples, the Beothuk).

As we came across the bay today the weather was good for spotting wildlife. David spotted some dolphins a ways off. He also sighted a humpback whale that was cruising along off our starboard quarter. It gracefully raised its flukes, after taking five of six breaths, and dove into the depths. I have been a bit surprised that we have not been seeing more whales. Perhaps it is a bit late in the season; or, perhaps the unusually warm weather has them roaming further north. From what we are seeing, sea temperatures are unusually high here this summer. It may be an impact of climate change.

Yesterday I mentioned that in Bonavista and Notre Dame Bays, the more northern areas Tazzarin has sailed in this season, we are seeing fulmars. I thought it would be fun to share a photo of one of these birds. At first glance they look like a type of gull. However, if you look more closely at the photo below, you will see a more rounded, bluff head and shorter, stockier wings. They also have a thicker and shorter neck that most gulls, And, they like these higher latitudes. They are also more adept and graceful fliers than gulls, often skimming over the waves. I enjoy striving to improve my bird identification skills. Mariners of old and ancient times relied heavily on bird sightings to aid them in their navigation. Do you think you could tell a fulmar from the herring gulls of New England?

Bill