81ft BLUE WHALE
Record Catch (N ZP.A.-Reuter) DURBAN. An 85-ton blue whale harpooned by the Durban-based whale-catcher, Wilfred Fearnhead, off the Natal coast was finally hauled to the whaling factory at the Bluff near Durban. The whale, said to be the biggest ever caught by a Durban catcher in 60 years of hunting, was about 81ft long and 60ft in girth. After being harpooned about 100 miles east of Durban, it broke loose from the whaler in rough seas. The captain of the ship had the whale flagged and an aircraft was sent to search for it the following day. It was finally sighted off the Tugela river mouth about 15 miles out at sea. A second whale-catcher, the G. C. Scully, was sent to retrieve the prize. In galelashed seas the little ship battled with the whale—one fifth of its own tonnage. The G. C. Scully made harbour eventually. A high wind made handling the huge carcase difficult and the whale after first being deflated, was hauled up the slipway.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CI, Issue 30007, 17 December 1962, Page 14
Word Count
17181ft BLUE WHALE Press, Volume CI, Issue 30007, 17 December 1962, Page 14
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