Fog can sneak in thick along the cliffs, but sometimes a whale seems to know exactly where the sun will break through. Hetta, a grand dame of the North Atlantic, has a knack for showing up just where the light catches the spray, making every sighting of her a little bit magical.

Hetta’s story begins back in July of 1993, way up in Bonavista Bay. The capelin were rolling, and the sea was alive with bustling birds, leaping fish, and the tall, dark back of a humpback who’d already seen more of the Atlantic than most. That first sighting hints at the start of something special, but then, like a rumour on the wind, Hetta vanished from the record books for nearly a decade.

It wasn’t until July of 2002 that Hetta resurfaced in Witless Bay, with a flourish that would’ve had the puffins clapping—if only puffins had hands. From that summer on, she seemed to favour these sheltered waters. July after July, especially between 2003 and 2017, Hetta delighted day-trippers and locals alike with her reliable appearances. There’s comfort in a whale that keeps her own schedule, marking the passage of summers like an old clock chiming in the night.

After 2017, one might’ve wondered if Hetta had moved on for good. But then, out of the blue, she’s spotted in July of 2025, this time near Cobbler’s Path, not too far from St. John’s. The gap is a proper mystery, reminding us how many secrets still slip beneath the waves, and how remarkable it is when a familiar whale returns.