Baleia!: The whalers of the Azores

by Bernard Venables

From the author's Foreword:

«I came in ignorance to the writing of this book. I knew little of the Azores (strange though that seems to me now) and less of their whaling. In the passage from ignorance to intimacy I had need of help; the warmth and generosity of its giving cannot be fitly recognized by mere formal acknowledgement. The help given made my book possible; it was, as much, an enrichment of life.

It was just luck that Dr Alexandre Goulart should have been a native not only of the Azores, but of Horta itself, but I think he would have been no less wonderfully help- ful had that not been so. He was, at that time, London manager of TAP (Transportes Aereos Portugueses), and he and TAP fathered me kindly to the furthest points of my exploring. Gratefully I thank them here for that.

And in Horta—what can I do but thank at large the whole of that warm community? Particularly of course I must thank those individuals whose consistent help overrode for me every difficulty. Of Henrique and 'Peter' Azevedo, that forever blessed pair, I have written in the book, and no mere gesture of thanks can repay my debt to them. And indeed, where would I have been but for the quietly practical intercessions of Senhor Othon da Rosa Silveira, or the fervent expositions of Senhor Tomas Alberto?

To Stanley Weston I owe unrestricted access to his immense scholarship about everything Azorean; Stanley Weston, so typical of a certain kind of Englishman to be found, little British islands by themselves, in countries over the earth. He, as English as any man could ever be, settled in Horta forty years, speaking the purest Portuguese, could answer me authoritatively on any question I could ask him about the Azores, from botany to ethnology.

And Senhor Norberto Frayão, who was forever in a fury of busyness, but was never so busy that he would not stop all to give me his help; to him too I owe my affection and my thanks. I must thank too Tourismo of Horta, whose protective umbrella was so great a help at all times.

To my several brief stays in Angra do Heroismo, on Terceira, I owe not only the help of that most distinguished old man Colonel Agostinho, but the deep pleasure and privilege of knowing him.

In describing the tools of the whalers I have drawn heavily upon Robert Clarke's authoritative monograph, Open Boat Whaling in the Azores (Cambridge University Press, 1954). I have transcribed various passages from it, having, while in Horta, checked them with authorities there, particularly Senhor Thomas Alberto. Robert Clarke's factual accuracy is indeed so exhaustively complete that his book must be a dominating background to the work of any who follow him.»

206 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Bernard Venables was an artist, angler, journalist and author. He co-founded the Angling Times in 1953, was founder editor of Creel magazine in 1963, and wrote over 20 books. He was an early environmentalist and his love of the natural world inspired many of today's British anglers, and he is remembered as one of the great and influential anglers of the 20th Century.

From information about one of Venables' books on Wikipedia