kayaks and Whales

Some pictures taken by Stevwe or Martha
The Sunshines on the high sea

June 28, 2006

This was the second day in a row of bright sunshine, something the locals say rarely happens here in June. Of course they didn’t know about Mr. and Mrs. Sunshine. We drank coffee on our porch and watched the cove.

There are few places on earth that are as much fun to photograph as Halibut Cove. There are few places where nature and human occupation makes both more beautiful. And it is best on a morning like this; bright sun, blue sky, flat water. There are two of everything running in opposite directions and just touching at the water’s surface: the kayaks, red, yellow, blue stacked on the dock next to the white house, and their picture perfectly painted just below; The red house hanging up and down on black pilings; The white gull flying by screeching, its image following in the water; and the silver and blue boat growling slowly along at the front of the ripple arrows, dragging its likeness.

The cove seems to just be waking. Sounds float crisp in the morning air. Gulls screech, someone down the cove laughs, the blue and silver boat groans into the distance, chickadees squeal, thrushes sing, and the whale spouts—WHAT? A whale? Whales don’t come into coves like this. But there it was, surfacing first to exhale a spout of misty breath and then rolling slowly to take in a breath of clean cove air. Steve timed the breaths; six minutes between inhale and exhale. Carl later told us that she (?) was a menke and that today was the first time that a whale had been in the cove in over ten years. Two days of sunshine and a whale—wow. We watched the whale most of the morning while getting ready to kayak. By the time we finally got into our boats, the tide was almost out and the whale had gone with the tide.

We paddled in the cove so that Steve and Martha could learn their boat. By afternoon the Sunshine’s had it mastered and we paddled over the bar that high tide had submerged and along the coast of Ismailof looking at star fish, jelly fish, and colorful houses built along the rocks. We made it all the way to Susan’s dock. It didn’t look any easier from the water.

This evening we walked the boardwalk to the Saltry for dinner. We recognized the locals and most of them recognized us. It is possible to meet almost everyone in Halibut Cove within twenty-four hours; with the possible exception of the folks renewing their creativity across the cove at the Creative Renewal Center. Most of the other tourists stay for a couple of hours, eat at the Saltry and go back on the evening run of the Danny J. We scooted our chairs closer to the fire and had another cup of coffee.