A Whale Tale

"I'd rather not," I said. "You know how seasick I get."

"Oh come one, the water's calm," she said.

"Okay," I replied.

I came to regret that word.

We put out of Tiverton, Nova Scotia on a 24-foot open fishing boat. Tiverton is one of several hamlets on a roughly 34-mile spit on the southwest coast of Nova Scotia bounded by the Bay of Fundy on the west and north and St. Mary's Bay on the east and south.

The whales were two hours out, more toward New Brunswick than Nova Scotia.

My wife was right; the long cruise out was calm. We saw a few gulls, perhaps a shearwater, and lots of water.

When we finally reached the right whales, they were feeding. We rolled about watching whales for about an hour, getting only close enough for me to snap a few photographs with a 300mm lens.

The two-hour trip back was pure hell. When the tide starts to come into the Bay of Fundy, it wants in! The boat plowed into waves like an NFL offensive line. Water sloshed over the small pilot's cabin, across a small adjoining roof and onto passengers. It saved me from really becoming seasick. "Really" is a relative term, however, because I spent every long drawn out second of the two-hour return riveted to one spot and staring at the horizon repeating "You can make it without throwing up. Don't throw up. Puhleeez don't throw up." I didn't--but barely.

Every once and awhile I'd lean out over the gunnel (that's nautical talk for the "rail" of the boat) so the cold spray could splash my face. Meanwhile I sipped my water bottle to keep my stomach busy because there's nothing worse than dry heaves. Been there, done that.

When we finally docked, I got off the boat as fast as I could and just walked around trying to let my queasy stomach settle. It took three days for my stomach to settle down.

Now, about the right whales we saw. Big (up to 53 feet) and black looking, although they are dark brown and have some white under the chin and on the belly. However, unless a whale leaps or rolls over you won't see the white. You also have to be close enough.

Right whales range from Iceland to eastern Florida and occasionally into the southeast and southwest Gulf of Mexico. They're also found in the Pacific from Alaska to Baja.

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