Baccalieu Tickle

The aim for today was to revisit Baccalieu in calm conditions (forecast had been good but NF style the weather does its own thing! There’s 2 swells running a short one crossing the bay and intermittent slow big one entering😬

It’s a 4 hour sail to reach the island and we add an extra hour trying to leave Port Rexton as we appear to have picked up every piece of seaweed with attached rocks on our anchor it weighs so much we cannot get it out of the water initially. Simultaneously we have wrapped the rope to the float around the keel. Meantime the wind is blowing us onto the headland we’ve just been trying to hide behind - maybe this is why it’s not a recommended spot in the Manual🤷🏽‍♀️

It’s a very cold day and low cloud means permanently damp - so perhaps 6 degrees as we hear of 36 about to hit the UK.

The first thing we notice is the shearwaters are back! Then we get a relatively close up view of a pack of seals 3-4 miles off shore fishing near the surface as capelin gather. We’d seen this in the distance previously in Conception Bay unsure what we’d witnessed. We came across more rafts later. They move fast in a tight knit group noses out of the water regularly. It’s good to see them as sealing has been a huge industry here and still is. Sealskin products being sold
In shops.
Whale sightings start well and we realise as we reach the tickle they are numerous - happy humpbacks, multiple blows, fin and tail slapping ,a couple of breaches we slow down and spend several hours sailing amongst them watching their antics. They make awesome deep grunting sounds but their breath doesn’t smell too great!

As we round the island a whale approaches the back of the boat, we can see him just beneath the water and he swims beneath us coming out at the front, twisting with fins and tail out of the water - then obviously drops back to repeat the game a couple more times! Mind blowing close encounter - you realise how powerful they are feeling water shift as they move, yet he’s careful and accurate. Amazing treat.Baca lagi