Vig

On a trip from Samoa to the Lau Group of the Fiji Islands, my parents stopped in Niuatoputapu and nearby Tafahi in the far north of Tonga’s long archipelago of islands. While out sailing between the two islands with a couple of Tongan men on board, all four were dumbfounded to see the most immense creature they’d ever seen surfacing not far from their sailboat. It was a huge sea serpent with a porpoise-like head (not the bottlenose or beaked type) that was about 9 ft (2.75m) wide and high. The visible part of the serpentine body was at least twice as long as their 40 ft (12.2 m) long sailboat. They saw only the head and two curved sections of the body out of the water. So figure a body that is perhaps at least 100 ft (30.5m) long. They said that the body behind the head was a little less wide than the head, maybe 7 or 8 ft (2.1m to 2.4m) wide and had an oval-shaped cross-section. The skin was smooth and grayish in color, like that of a porpoise or whale. It was traveling in the opposite direction from that of their boat and surfaced twice. It seemed to take no interest in them. The Tongans told my parents that their legends tell of such a monster, but this was the first time they’d seen anything like that.

They told me that they were so stunned in near disbelief at what they were seeing that no one had the presence of mind to think about taking a photo.

When my parents cautiously mentioned what they had seen to other yachties in ports like Suva (Fiji’s capital town), there was no shortage of raised eyebrows and questions about what they had been drinking or smoking. My parents never drink alcohol nor do they take other mind-altering drugs, and i can testify that they are meticulously truthful, and hardly given to “fish stories”.

Both they and I also have other stories of strange and unusual animals seen during our days in the Pacific.

Cheer!

david

I enjoy your site- your story about Heuvelman’s serpent brought to mind an encounter my father had in the early 1980’s. While it may not be of any significance, it’s one of those stories that should be preserved just in case. And I might forget what I remember about it before I share it!

My father, Laforest Norwood, was a lighthouse keeper (among other occupations) in Nova Scotia. When he wasn’t off on the light he would come home to Westport, Brier Island, Nova Scotia.

A boat builder, and rowing enthusiast, he loved to go for long rows around Brier Island, sometimes around Long Island, and even across St. Mary’s Bay to Metaghan, Nova Scotia.

One summer’s day- and I don’t recall the exact date- he was returning from a row through the passage by Peter’s Light, which is at the southern entrance to Brier Island. Because the current runs upwards of 4-6 knots directly through the passage, he would take an eddy which was very close to the shore of Brier Island. The eddy is very narrow- basically the width of a rowboat with the oars extended, but you can use it to get by the worst of the main current.

The water depth varies in the area where he was rowing, but in one spot where the water was about 10-15 feet deep he observed an animal swimming beneath his boat, in the same direction (roughly north).

My father was probably in his mid-fifties at the time. He had grown up on Boston Light, and fished and worked on the water all over the world his entire life. He was extremely knowledgeable of all types of water-life,- college educated, and as they used to say- “of sound mind and body.”

He described the animal as being about six feet in length, with a body shape similar to a seal but not as round in the middle, with a brownish dark coloration. It didn’t surface for air for the time that he observed it, (several minutes). It’s speed would approximate that of the skiff, probably 2-3 knots under the circumstances,

The most significant part of this incident is not that my father could identify the animal- it’s that he couldn’t!

Although he had a very good look at it, under conditions of shallow, clear water, he was not able say what it was.

I remember asking him:

“Was it a dolphin?”
“No.”
“Was it a porpoise?”
“No.”
“A seal?”
“No.”

When I pressed him on it, his best guess was that it was a mammal of some sort because it appeared to have a fur-type coat, but it was unlike any mammal he’d ever seen. He also mentioned he got the “feeling of intelligence” from the animal. (For what that’s worth- but I personally would never discount the possibility of our having other senses.)

I believe my mother is working with some of his journals and diaries at this time. I will ask if this incident is recounted in any of his writings, and if you’re interested I’ll get more details.

Frank