Birth of a Whale

The Vancouver Aquarium was recently excited to announce the birth of a baby beluga whale on Tuesday, June 10. The new baby named Qila entered the world on live video for the world to watch. The Aquarium continues to have a live feed from the whales' tank so you can watch all the action.

In my post yesterday, I announced the "birth" of a whale of a different kind. The "birthing" process began with an empty propane tank that floated into Hole in the Wall. It was discovered by our good friend John. After a year without any claimants, he agreed to give it to us. It was extremely rusted, especially below the water line. Wayne's first task was to sand the entire tank to get rid of the loose rust particles and blisters.

The next step was to prepare the metal surface for painting. Fortunately, we found a half-priced can of metal primer at the local Rona store. They have a great section if "mistints" to choose from. Because we wanted to protect the entire tank from further corrosion, Wayne had to roll it over and tie it up to get at the bottom.

The next step was to paint the entire tank with a white base coat of rust-resistant paint. Because we had the primer underneath, no rust have leaked through. Once the white coat was dry, it was time to decide what to paint on the tank. We had several ideas: a submarine with waving passengers, a salmon, and even Ogopogo, the monster of deep lakes. The winning design was a fanciful whale.

Again using rust-resistent paint, Wayne coloured in the design until the form of the whale emerged. Painting while the tank was in the water was a little problematic, and periodic rains didn't help either. The left and right sides aren't exact duplicates, but that adds to the character of our whale.

Our newly "born" whale is now part of the boom in front of our cabin. He performs two important tasks. First, he welcomes passerbys to the Hole with a great big grin. Second, he helps cut down the wakes from their boats so that we can keep welcoming smiles on our faces as well.

We plan to let our new whale swim in the Hole all summer. Next year, he may go through a reincarnation and come out with a different look. Who knows, that sub may yet surface in the Hole. -- Margy