Marine Mammals
“I
t helps if you hum,” he said with a bit of a smile, “You know, Abba or something. They like the sound.” Dwight Allen has been in Churchill since way before his now-adult children were born and when he tells you to hum, well, you hum. This is no ordinary jaunt up to
Churchill to see large white marine mammals. Uli Kunz and I have been planning this trip for almost a year. Whatever it takes, we will SCUBA dive in the Churchill River when the belugas (the other large white marine mammal found in ridiculous concentration in the region) are there with their calves. But with no dive shop on location, no roads upon which to haul gear and no dive masters available to follow around, careful planning and an adventurous spirit are as essential as a laisser- faire attitude. My first stop is Underworld SCUBA
and Sport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to pick up the tanks and weights. Tessa, the shop owner, is eager to hear
44 Magazine
about the plan and where her tanks will travel. She makes sure that we have everything on our list, including both DIN and YOKE tanks with extra fill adapter. Though the rumours of being able to fill tanks at the Churchill Fire Station are indeed true, we take four full tanks and extra lead to be sure to get in a few dives before needing to refill. The gear is put on the VIA Rail train the following day and I board a flight on Calm Air to get there ahead of time so that we can scout and prepare. We settle into a more than
comfortable apartment at the Polar Inn and begin a series of planning sessions with Dwight, and often the rest of his family. “How many of these young people are your children?” I ask. He smiles and
…the belugas follow us around, bump our kayak, and make faces … the vis may be a problem, but not the whales
Big white
mammals of two varieties
congregate at Churchill
introduces me to Aubrey and Remi, and tells me that Didier isn’t around right now. The rest of the young people rushing about are competent and enthusiastic guides that work during the beluga season and all are eager to take us out to see them. “The belugas are my favourite”, says one of them when I ask her whether she also gives polar bear tours. “They’re so friendly and reliable.” Our first kayak excursion is to
figure out whether the whales are as approachable as rumoured and if visibility underwater will allow for good photographs. As the belugas follow us around, bump our kayak, and make faces at our Go Pro we quickly determine that visibility will be our challenge. The next day a big storm from the
north rolls in and when we go out snorkelling the following day, we think that the winds had swept in nearly all of the sediment from the entire Hudson Bay. “Two weeks ago, this river was as clear as gin”, says
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