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Posts: 17
Registered:
January 2003
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Dolphin in Harraseeket River
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Wed, 29 September 2004 21:51
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Last Sunday, as I was motoring back to the shore in my inflatable dinghy, I was startled to hear a splash behind me. When I turned around, I didn't see anything unusual. Then I hear a sound like air escaping from a punctured tire. This time when I looked, I saw alongside a gray, ~6+ foot long, torpedo-like shape. The shape dived down and disappeared, only to reappear astern a minute later. It was following very close, so close that its head was under the dinghy bottom. I was affraid that it will get hurt by the propeller, so I stopped the motor. The creature made it clear in no uncertain terms that it wanted the outboard started again, first by circling around the dinghy, and then by actually tilting the propeller out of the water with its forehead! It did not mind it at all when I touched its head (its skin felt like soft rubber.) When, after a while, it became clear that I was not restarting the motor, it went away to play next to a nearby moored sailboat. However, as soon as I got under way again, it was back following me. Again I stopped, and, again, it tried a few times to tilt the outboard up. It also would turn on its back as it swam under the stern (perhaps to get me to scratch its tummy?) Then it got bored with that game, and started to spin my dinghy in circles by pushing on one of the tubes with its nose. I was finally rescued when it heard another dinghy motor, and it went off in pursuit of this more interesting playmate. The creature looked to me like a bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/btlnose.htm), probably a juvenile male. This encounter was almost surreal. I did not have a camera with me, but to make sure it was not a dream, I called my wife on the cell phone and gave her a running account as the events unfolded. It was an unforgettable experience. I only hope that this creature did not come to any harm and that it found its way out of the harbor.
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Posts: 186
Registered:
November 2002
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Whale in Harraseeket River?!
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Tue, 19 October 2004 09:48
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Mark,
In all likelyhood, you saw Poco, the wayward beluga whale that has been travelling by himself up and down the coast all summer. Poco, however, is slightly bigger than the six feet you describe, but he is a grey color, not white. I saw him off Peaks in early Septmeber, and the encounter described below in Harpswell is just around the time you saw him. My apologies for not staying more on top of this fun story.
From the Points East website http://www.pointseast.com/thegulf/041001poco-ad.shtml.
From Cal Cloutier
Harpswell, Maine
I can't believe I saw Poco the day after picking up a copy of your latest issue! Is it true that the consensus is that there is only one Poco? That would suggest that my chances of seeing (him?) was somewhere on the order of a million to one!
Sighting was Friday Sept. 24 off the end of Lookout Point Road, Harpswell, Maine, in Middle Bay.
What a thrill.
Here's how to id a beluga from http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/education/cetaceans/beluga2.htm#id entify :
Belugas are born dark gray. They turn white as they mature sometimes taking 3-8 years to reach their adult coloration. Adult beluga whales can grow up to 16 feet (4.9 meters) long. Females are generally smaller than males. Belugas have large melons and very short snouts. Interestingly enough, unlike other cetaceans, beluga whales also have the ability to move their head independent of their body.
Beluga whales do not have dorsal fins. Dorsal fins would be a major hindrance during the winter when they live in the loose pack ice of the Arctic. A dorsal fin would cause extra heat loss when Arctic animals, such as belugas, need to to conserve heat. They do have a tough dorsal ridge which, along with their head, can be used to break ice for breathing holes.
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Posts: 17
Registered:
January 2003
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 Re: Whale in Harraseeket River?!
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Tue, 26 October 2004 22:08
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Curtis,
Thank you for pointing me to the Poco stories. Apparently I was one of the very few people in the Gulf of Maine who have never heard about this creature! Anyway, I feel that this encounter with Poco was certainly the highlight of the summer of 2004, and one of the highlights of my entire sailing career.
Mark
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