Whale tows boat
- Thread starter Conachair
- Start date
binch
New member
Whales
Before whaling off Bequia was banned, I watched Manoel Oliviera, the last of the hand harpoonists, strike a sperm whale from his four-oared whaler. The whale sounded to about 150 feet, then came to the surface and towed the boat at planing speed for half a mile. All the time Manoel took every chance to shorten scope. It took two hours to get the whale alongside and then beached on Little Bequia.
They sounded the conch shell on the main island beach and about half the population came down to flens and cut up the carcass. A very important part of the island's diet.
I have never objected to whale hunting this way. It is fair combat between whale and man. You should see the terrible wounds some of his crew had got from rope burns. Generally speaking they only got a whale evry two years; hardly a case of over-fishing.
Factory whaling is another thing.
Before whaling off Bequia was banned, I watched Manoel Oliviera, the last of the hand harpoonists, strike a sperm whale from his four-oared whaler. The whale sounded to about 150 feet, then came to the surface and towed the boat at planing speed for half a mile. All the time Manoel took every chance to shorten scope. It took two hours to get the whale alongside and then beached on Little Bequia.
They sounded the conch shell on the main island beach and about half the population came down to flens and cut up the carcass. A very important part of the island's diet.
I have never objected to whale hunting this way. It is fair combat between whale and man. You should see the terrible wounds some of his crew had got from rope burns. Generally speaking they only got a whale evry two years; hardly a case of over-fishing.
Factory whaling is another thing.