The Whale Hunters

Regardless of what you think about the ancient tradition of hunting whales, you have to admit that it’s an
impressive feat worthy of a Hemingway novel. Of course, Papa never wrote about this act of man v. beast, but in a
classic and superb Outside Magazine article Perfect
Storm author Sebastian Junger tries to do it justice. (Hey, what’s Junger up to these days, anyway? haven’t heard
from him in a while
.)

He travels to Bequia, one of 32 islands that make up the southern Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
where grizzled men pursue humpbacks as part of a centuries-old tradition. You will read the story of
Ollivierre, who, unlike his kindred spirits in places like Greenland, Alaska, and
Siberia, takes down whales the old fashioned way: using a sailboat and a hand-thrown harpoon.

Again, you may find the idea of killing harmless cetaceans repulsive and anachronistic (I do), but if you read this
story, you will at the very least find a modicum of respect for Ollivierre, who
heads out to sea to take on the earth’s largest animal with nothing but guts and simple tools.