Listening on the radio as fellow hunters give chase

Edward listens on his radio as boats from the Oyagak and Ipalook crews follow whales out on the ocean. I got some good hunting shots the other day. I could use some shots from the island of the other crews towing their catch toward us. They just saw a mama and a baby out there, so they pulled back to let them pass undisturbed.

Grassing for a whale just beyond the island

Two crews and five boats are out on the water right now, chasing small whales. We can hear them on the radio. When they left an hour or two ago, they spotted a blow just beyond the island. Tommy climbed onto the roof to get a good look through his telescope. Edward is going to stay put today to do some work on the boat that we took to the whale three days ago. Bryan will bring his boat back sometime today and Eric will be bringing his as well. Suluk is getting his boat ready and will go out in a bit. A bunch of young hunters want to go with him. I might go again, too.

Names on the wall - a birthday noted

It is expected that everybody who visits this camp, be it US Dept of Interior officials Pat Pourchot and Andy Mack, who stopped by for a couple of hours last season, or each Nukapigak crew member who comes and stays every year, will leave their name somewhere on the wall. As you can see, I left my name on the wall three years ago today - and it was Margie's birthday. So it is her birthday again today. I will put my name and her date up there again today. Happy birthday, Beloved Wife.

Three to go

The first whale is now put away - boxed up and ready to be transported back to the village. Polar bears happily gnaw on bones. Nuiqsut has a bowhead quota of four, so three are left to go. The ocean is calming and hunting will likely resume tomorrow, but the window may be short as the wind and seas are forecast to pick up on Friday and howl through the weekend.

Standing polar bear watch

Robert Lampe Jr. just got in after the 92 mile boat ride from Nuiqsut solely to stand polar bear watch. Polar bears love to eat the whales but the whalers don't want them to. Many have come and been driven off with both "cracker" and warning shots. #