We had another long day ahead of us at the end of August 2025, as we first wanted to drive to Twillingate and afterwards to Gander. On the way there, we stopped at Captain Dave's, who had established a museum with a souvenir shop next to his tourist boating business. He offers boat trips, and you can visit the museum with old items he's collected over the decades, as well as the souvenir shop. It was very interesting and entertaining; I felt very comfortable there.
On NL-340, it's about 8 km before Twillingate if you're coming from the south, 90 km from Notre Dame Junction, 140 km from Gander, 175 km from Badger, and a whopping 620 km from Port aux Basques. "The Prime Berth is the very first place you'll see as you cross the causeway to Twillingate."
The colorful wooden shacks are partly on the jetties, and from Route 340, they and the whale skeleton can be seen easily.
You can book small group, personalized tours to view icebergs and/or nesting birds on the Baccy Islands, explore the rugged coastline of Main Tickle, and also fish for cod [1].
"Prime Berth refers to the age-old practice of holding a draw, or lottery of sorts, each spring to determine the spot, or "berth," where fishermen would set their cod traps during the coming summer. Everyone hoped and prayed that they would be lucky enough to draw the best spot, or "Prime Berth," as it was called."
"David and his wife Christine, a fisherwoman herself, are both extremely proud of their creation and eager to share their passion and knowledge with visitors." So much for the commercial aspects, but if it weren't for them, there wouldn't be a museum [2].
Now let's turn to individual observations.
Outside, you can admire the whale skeleton and jawbones, which are often used in natural history museums. I saw such whale jaws as a child on Texel in the Netherlands [3]. One could also admire baleen. Moose antlers are particularly impressive. Moose in Europe is elk, and so you'll often encounter Germans or other Europeans who say elk because they don't know that in North America it's a different animal, another deer, the wapiti, which is the Algonquin word for this species; elk however is moose in British English. Various shells of lobsters and other crustaceans were also on display.
You could lose time with a multitude of boats, boat types, and models, although I was naturally most interested in the sailing ships, especially the model of a two-masted ship with its gaff and staysails. On this occasion, I remembered "Clipper Ships" by Fred Tate:
"Me and my dad make models of clipper ships.
Clipper ships sail on the ocean.
Clipper ships never sail on rivers or lakes.
I like clipper ships because they are fast." [4] from the film Little Man Tate [5].
Outside, you can admire the whale skeleton and jawbones, which are often used in natural history museums. I saw such whale jaws as a child on Texel in the Netherlands [3]. One could also admire baleen. Moose antlers are particularly impressive. Moose in Europe is elk, and so you'll often encounter Germans or other Europeans who say elk because they don't know that in North America it's a different animal, another deer, the wapiti, which is the Algonquin word for this species; elk however is moose in British English. Various shells of lobsters and other crustaceans were also on display.
You could lose time with a multitude of boats, boat types, and models, although I was naturally most interested in the sailing ships, especially the model of a two-masted ship with its gaff and staysails. On this occasion, I remembered "Clipper Ships" by Fred Tate:
"Me and my dad make models of clipper ships.
Clipper ships sail on the ocean.
Clipper ships never sail on rivers or lakes.
I like clipper ships because they are fast." [4] from the film Little Man Tate [5].
I'm not that interested in hunting weapons, but they were also on display. The hunter's jargon mentions rifles (in German Büchse), and there were some pretty old weapons on display, some of them rusty, which of course reassured me.
Private pictures, some faded, some fresh, hung in various houses.
One house was covered with pictures of icebergs that drifted past Newfoundland during spring, but they had already melted. When you travel across the ocean day in and day out as a tourist guide, you see enough, because you're not dependent on the experience of one day.
Pictures of houses, sheds, some with people working there.
There's also a video showing the processing of cod, done by Captain Dave himself.
Private pictures, some faded, some fresh, hung in various houses.
One house was covered with pictures of icebergs that drifted past Newfoundland during spring, but they had already melted. When you travel across the ocean day in and day out as a tourist guide, you see enough, because you're not dependent on the experience of one day.
Pictures of houses, sheds, some with people working there.
There's also a video showing the processing of cod, done by Captain Dave himself.
And what else? Cords, ropes, cables, lines, rods, nets, landing nets, floats, weights; washtubs, buckets, barrels; clothing; tools; bottles, cans, boxes, crates, some with contents; roller bearings; snowshoes; chains, anchors. Its abundance is overwhelming. Dave and Christine Boyd not only collected their own discarded items, but also encouraged others to donate items that would otherwise have ended up in the trash or being recycled. That would be a shame. I hope this commercial venture continues to flourish.
I already had a great day there, but in this wake the day developed just as interestingly. Thanks Newfoundland.
I already had a great day there, but in this wake the day developed just as interestingly. Thanks Newfoundland.
Links and Annotations:
[1] https://captdave.ca/
[2] http://www.primeberth.com/
[3] I'm a bit surprised, as there are no whale bones on the site: https://www.texel.net/en/company/ecomare-centrum-voor-wadden-en-noordzee/ But I still have a picture my father took in 1961 with the whale jawbones in front of the Texels Museum and you can see from left to right one of my brothers, my mother, and myself.
[1] https://captdave.ca/
[2] http://www.primeberth.com/
[3] I'm a bit surprised, as there are no whale bones on the site: https://www.texel.net/en/company/ecomare-centrum-voor-wadden-en-noordzee/ But I still have a picture my father took in 1961 with the whale jawbones in front of the Texels Museum and you can see from left to right one of my brothers, my mother, and myself.
[4] http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/l/little-man-tate-script-transcript.html
[5] Little Man Tate is a 1991 American film directed by Jodie Foster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Man_Tate
.
[5] Little Man Tate is a 1991 American film directed by Jodie Foster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Man_Tate
.
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