"A Worthy Adversary Indeed, White May"

By early Staurday morning there she was, hiding no more. A visible behemoth, a monolith of white frozen energy. White May! Her camaflouge, her cover...... discarded. Her true self revealed. What a journey for her, a challenge for me.


Even from a distance White May made sure you knew she was there. Initially trying to conceal her presence now announcing it in spectacular defience to the community of Melrose and beyond....I........have arrived!


It was still too windy on Saturday morning when I arrived after my three and a half hour paddle in Bonnavista to attempt to assail her. I waited about an hour then headed out of Melrose only to return at about 1530h to try and meet White May again. Dan, a local fisherman said she was about 2 miles off and even at 2 miles off she was larger than any structure in the community of Melrose...the biggest Berg I'd seen. The winds near shore were not bad so Pat and Dan helped me load up and I was off. Well I reached about a mile and a half off and the winds began to pick up. It was extremely difficult to manage beam seas that were intensifying and take pictures of that monstrousity I had travelled so far to paddle near. I had to concede, I had to turn around, I didn't feel safe at that distance by myself in worsening conditions. I felt deflated for not getting the shot I wanted but hey, there will be more and White May's journey had been much longer than mine. She sure was a beauty as I viewed the shots on Dan's camera he had taken from his fishing boat. He offered to take me out but it just didn't feel right, it just wasn't meant to be. I'll settle on her shots from a distance.



So life goes on in Melrose. Logs get split, Pat has a cold brewsky and whiles away a beautiful spring day seemingly oblivious to that towering monolith in the background but he knows as I know ....it is there, you sense it, you can most certainly smell it mixed with the brine of the air, lingering waiting..........for replacements.