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A Heritage Explorer

Gerald Smith loves telling visitors about Trinity Bay and Dildo Island

Editor's note: Since this article was published, Gerald Smith has become a guide with Dildo Island Adventure Tours (www.dildoislandtours.com) offering the same fascinating descriptions of  Upper Trinity Bay.

In the touring business customer satisfaction often depends on the personality of the guide.  People embarking on Dildo Island Tours in Trinity Bay are seldom disappointed because few guides impart their love and knowledge of a place like Gerald Smith, who owns the business. When they climb back into their cars at Gerald's wharf in the fishing outport of Dildo, his visitors take with them an impression of upper Trinity Bay that encompasses whales, seabirds, rugged coastal wilderness, edible plants, history spanning a period of 1,500 years or more, and myriad interesting details that only someone with a true passion for the subject would know.  Gerald's boat, a 30-foot former trap skiff, is named Heritage Explorer, and it couldn't be more fitting. The name actually even better describes the boat's owner. Gerald Smith has an enthusiasm and curiosity about the world around him that perfectly suits him for his work. In the past seven years he has welcomed many types of people aboard his boat -- those from nearby communities, tourists from far-flung parts of the world,  academics and experts in some of the very subjects Gerald  talks about on his tours.                                  

That's where his curiosity kicks in: he picks the brains of  these experts to learn more about the fascinating lore and legend of this part of Newfoundland. ("My father used to say we can learn something from anybody if only we'd listen," he says. "I've learned a lot from other people by doing just that.") The result is usually a stimulating experience for both tourist and guide, and that's the way Gerald likes it.

A former fisherman, logger, merchant seaman, whaler and fish plant worker, Gerald has wide experience to draw upon. But it's his attitude that some might see as unusual. For years he made a living from harvesting marine and land resources -- part of the Newfoundland culture for generations -- but now he does so with the eyes of a conservationist. Perhaps a throwback to the days of subsistence living which often bordered on serious poverty, some rural Newfoundlanders take more than they need from the land and sea, he observes. This can cause wastage and, in extreme cases like the prized codfish, the endangering of the species. When he hunts, fishes or cuts wood Gerald tries to use as much of each harvested resource as he can. And when he takes his boat close to whales for tourists to see, he does so with great care to avoid distressing the huge mammals.

From the time he was a small boy, whaling played an big part in Gerald's life, as it did in the lives of most men in upper Trinity Bay. Harvesting the small pothead whales in huge numbers for animal food was a major industry in the area a few decades ago, and men and boys all took part in it to earn a dollar. Then he shipped aboard a whaling vessel for several years until the hunt was banned by international agreement in 1972.

Gerald and other whalers still remember the excitement of the hunt, something you had to experience to appreciate. "I didn't think of it as killing. It was something we were doing to earn a living that was also thrilling for us," he says. "I've come full circle, and when I see a whale I get just as excited as I did 30 years ago, only now I observe them and try to show people what beautiful creatures they are. To have the excitement of whaling, without killing or harming anything, is wonderful."

Whale watching is only part of what Dildo Island Tours offers. As Heritage Explorer departs from his wharf, Gerald usually steers her to open water to see if any whales can be spotted. They might be minkes, humpbacks or even the huge finbacks...he's seen them all there. Then the tour slowly proceeds along the coast watching for nesting bald eagles overhead, jellyfish in the green water, fascinating rock formations on the cliffs, and numerous seabirds patrolling
the shores in search of food. Tourists are told about an attempt to mine coal in Marley's Cove, and perhaps about some of the tiny fishing communities like Spread Eagle and Little Ridge that once existed nearby. 

Eventually, the boat puts into Dildo Island where Gerald walks his guests around a trail offering spectacular views through the aged spruce trees, pointing out interesting plants and historical highlights. These might include an 18th century shipwreck just offshore that he discovered, a successful codfish hatchery on the island a hundred years ago, Dorset Eskimo and Beothuk Indian archaeological digs, and even a small fort built on the island to protect early settlers of the area from French raiding parties in the 1700s. Back at the beach, over a campfire is cooking a traditional Newfoundland "boil-up" -- tea, toast, maybe some cheese and a special treat like roasted caplin or fried bologna, all of which tastes especially good in that outdoor setting.

After the tour, visitors are encouraged to visit the Dildo and Area Interpretation Centre on the community's waterfront. Here, much of the archaeological work on Dildo Island and its findings is exhibited and explained. Gerald's wife Rowena, a former teacher, is curator of the centre and Gerald serves on the board. Together they share a keen and active interest  in the heritage of Newfoundland and this region of it in particular. It's that enthusiasm that conveys itself to visitors and makes them want to return. Both Gerald's business and the interpretation centre have received awards for their contribution to the tourism industry. Fostering tourism through heritage is seen as an important part of the future of rural Newfoundland.

Gerald Smith, however, is simply doing what he loves best. Scanning the horizon for whales to show his visitors, learning a little more about his environment each time he goes out in the Heritage Explorer, and helping interested people from all over the world share his love of the waters and wilderness of Trinity Bay couldn't please him more.

Rowena Smith, Curator of the Dildo Area Interpretation Center,
shows the joy of the boating experience.  (Photo by G. Smith)

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