Out on the blustery edge of summer, with capelin rolling like silver confetti beneath the kelp, a wanderer called Ryan skimmed along the tapestry of headlands and bays. She’s a real sea-rover, that one, never shy about stretching her fins in all directions if the mood takes her.

Ryan’s tale begins in August of 2018, when she was seen not just once but three times in just over a week—a regular tour of Newfoundland’s northeast. First she splashed by Horsechops with the gannets wheeling overhead. Five days later, she surfaced beside Catalina, scattering puffins from their posts on the rocks. Before the kelp even had time to tangle, she turned up in Green Bay, making one wonder if she had a preferred snack in every harbour.

Come May of 2019, the sea seemed to tug her northward and she was found gliding through Eyjafjörður in the chilly arms of Iceland. Whether she chased the promise of spring herring or was pulled by memory and ancient instinct, only the deep knows. But she lingered over there for at least a week—no surprise, with the fjord shining like cold glass in the Arctic light.

Fast forward, and Ryan popped up in Mobile Bay during July of 2022. After two years without a whisper, she burst onto the scene in Witless Bay in July 2024, before sneaking round to Bay Bulls the very same day. No grass grows under those flippers, let me tell you. She’s the sort to keep watchers guessing, vanishing over the horizon just as the camera focuses.