Newfoundland and Labrador trip: At sea, en route to Gros Morne National Park

13 July 2012.
Four presentations to keep us amused as we head for Gros Morne.

1. Jane Thomson, until recently a professor of art history at the University of Calgary, and a former chief curator for the Newfoundland Museums, talked about the importance of Harp seals to people that lived on the Northern peninsula (between Gros Morne and L'Anse aux Meadows), for clothing, tools and food, as well as for tents. Bladders were used for floats, blood was used as glue. Port au Choix is seal whelping area. Archaeological sites have harpoon heads, seal effigies.

2. Tony Beck, naturalist and photographer, talked about how to improve our photos. Composition, timing, simple, clean backgrounds for flowers, using Photoshop to get rid of overhead wires. Focus on the eyes (for birds) - if the eyes are in focus it doesn't matter if the rest isn't. Use flash in bright sunlight to reduce shadows. Underexpose and then correct with Photoshop.

3. Sean Cadigan (Memorial University professor): Newfoundland in the Colonial era. Great Britain originally discouraged settlement in Labrador so that the Inuit would stay and trade would develop. The Moravian Mission was encouraged. Palliser's Act was intended to keep Newfoundland for GB. Returning fishermen would spend their money in GB. Newfoundland was unusual in that women's work (drying and processing fish) determined the quality and hence price of fish, and women managed and made decisions on property as their men were away at sea. The naval government didn't understand this and whipped two men for not being in charge of their households, which led to end of naval government in 1824. This is when Newfoundland became a colony, not a place to fish and return home.

4. Jacques Sirois, grew up in Québec city, moved to Newfoundland to learn English(!), now lives in Victoria B.C. His talk: "Auk, auk, auk." Six species of auks or Alcids survive in this area (the great auk was eaten to extinction by 1800). They are black on top and white underneath and only come ashore to breed. They swim underwater using their narrow wings.

Atlantic puffin; Common murre (Turr in NL, Guillemot in GB) which occurs where there's no ice; Thick billed murre (Brünnich's guillemot) which occurs where there is ice; the Dovekie (Little auk); Razorbill; and Black guillemot. These are the most prolific sea birds on Canada's coasts. Puffins are making a bit of a come-back since the cod moratorium - before that thousands of them were caught and died in gill nets. The Common murre and Razorbills lay one egg on cliffs. Chicks jump off the cliff at 20 days old, before they can fly. Father takes over and escorts and feeds chick on its sea migration to the Grand Banks. Auks are often seen in small flocks flying in lines low above the water.

View from the bridge. The orange and blue display is depth.

The electronic chart display, which is to the right of above photo.
The ship is about to round Cape Ray (Port aux Basques),
the SW corner of Newfoundland. Speed 10 knots.