Beneath the gull-crowded cliffs and lichen-painted rocks of Newfoundland and Labrador, there’s a certain whale with a hop in his fluke—Brett, the gentle lad with a taste for adventure and a knack for surprise appearances. The sea’s tall tales often start with mist on the waves and a hush among the tour boats, but with Brett about, there’s always a touch more excitement woven into every salt-drenched breeze.

The summer of 2024 seemed made for spectacle, and Brett wasted no time making his mark. Early July found him sweeping into Bay Bulls, stirring up crowds on not one, but two occasions in the span of a fortnight. Not content to linger in any one bay for long, he swept south in late July, showing off at Beachy Cove, then joining the ballet of backs and tails in Witless Bay. Folk with binoculars made quick work of pointing fingers and snapping photos, but as the calendar turned, Brett slipped from sight, chasing currents no one could see.

When 2025 rolled around, Brett turned up at St. Vincent’s Beach for a salute to the early summer, then kept tongues wagging by darting over to Horsechops Head near English Harbour. Come 2026, he was at it again—making himself known at Great Island, then Bird Island, and, almost as if he couldn’t resist a reunion, circling back to Bay Bulls on the same bright June day.

There’s a pattern there, one as winding as the coastline itself, with Brett never far from a crowd or a swoop of seabirds. If you’re ever scanning the horizon with the wind in your hair, you just might spot that familiar tail carving a crescent in the foam.