Holes

1900 Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Holes. I know it is an odd subject line. However, a hole in the land and a hole in the ice are just two memorable moments from a stellar day.

We awoke to a crystal clear, sunny morning. Fair winds from the southwest would let us sail almost all day. Our first leg was running back out the beautiful fjord of Occasional Harbour with 750-foot peaks on both sides. Just outside we turned northward and were greeted by "Hole in The Wall;" a huge natural arch in the jagged rocks of the headland. You can see it in the photo above.

Our sail continued, sometimes at over 7 knots, as the quantity of icebergs and growlers intensified. Towards the end of the day, we were in sight of over two dozen large bergs at the same time; one area literally had such a jumble of bergs, growlers and brash, it looked impenetrable. The best berg of all was one with a natural arch forming a hole through the berg. We marveled at the beauty as we sailed by! (See photo below.)

The end of our sail brought us to Hawke Harbour on the south side of Hawke Island. The head of the harbor is dominated by the remains of a once busy shore whaling station. This station was active until a fire destroyed it in 1959. It used to process 10 to 15 whales a day. The whales (fin, humpback, sperm and minke) were hunted by whales' catcher boats with huge bomb lance guns mounted in the bow. The whales would then be towed to the station. Today, the rusting relic of a catcher boat lies wrecked just a hundred yards astern of Tazzarin where we are anchored. (See photo below.)

Back in 1977 I was here at Hawke Harbour and searched the shallows around the old flensing dock and found a large broken sperm whale tooth; it now sits on a shelf in my home office.

Tomorrow, we head on 50 miles to Domino Harbour or Indian Tickle.

Bill