Barrow crew takes dream whale, season’s first

TAMAR BEN-YOSEF

May 09, 2008 at 11:21AM AKST

After 50 years of whaling, it is hard to surprise Eugene Brower, a Barrow whaling captain. But this year even he was surprised by how easily the North Slope’s first whale of the season was taken.

On Friday, May 2, at around noon, Brower was at his home, pan frying some whale meat for steaks as he told the story of the easiest whale hunt he had ever experienced.

On April 26, Brower and his Aalaak Whaling Crew set out for the hunt. On Sunday, April 27, they returned to town with a 28-foot plump female whale in tow.

Ordinarily, it would take days if not weeks of waiting to harvest a whale.

Brower said getting the first whale of the season is a good omen because it means more will follow. Sure enough, no less than a day later the Itta crew harvested another.

The Aalaak Crew’s hunt began on Saturday when the men headed out to open water. They stopped about a mile and half off the ledge to wait out some bad weather and search for a safe spot by the open water.

The crew set up camp and prepared to overnight. In the morning, the crew checked for open lead. It didn’t take long to find a good spot – and the whales running near by.

Price Brower, the crew’s designated harpooner, took to the lead and began setting up the area for the hours of waiting the men were bound to experience.

Once arriving at the spot, the crew completed the launch ramp at the edge of the ice and placed the boat on it, so that the whale could swim right up to the hunters.

Shortly after all setup was complete, two whales were spotted popping up above water about 200 feet away. Ronald Fisher and Charlie Brower took charge of both sides of the boat and shoved it into the water towards the whale, causing the harpooner to fall backwards.

Just as he sat back up, a third whale was spotted. At 2:30 p.m., the harpooner struck it as it surfaced a second time. At 4 p.m., the crew was offering prayers and letting the community know a whale had been taken.

"We all worked hard to share all the glory and praise of a successful hunt," said Eugene Brower.

"I was glad nobody got hurt and I thank all the crews that came out to help butcher the whale," he said.

The whale, a very soft and plump female, according to Brower, was 28 feet, 7 inches long, and 24 feet around the girth.

Just the kind of whale Brower said he always dreamed of getting.

This year, Brower had a new member on his crew, his 11-year old grandson, Jonathan Nelson. Nelson joined the crew as they brought in the whale and helped the men cut it up.

The whale was split up into 43 shares and divided up for the community.

His wife, Charlotte Brower, and several women neighbors got together and made 20 gallons of whale oil from the jaw, lip and blubber – a delicacy they plan to save for the blanket toss celebration, to be held in June.

Tamar Ben-Yosef can be reached at (907) 348-2419 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 419.