“Chunk” a40 ft.Whale Was Hauled out of the Fore River at Portland Yacht Services, 100 West Commercial Street,  last Thursday Afternoon. (Photo Courtesy of POrtland Harbor Master Kevin Battle.)

A Sign at the Juncture of Congress Street and the Eastern Promenade on Munjoy Hill.

Phin Sprague, Jr. Who was Camera Shy Prior to the Pandemic, is the Retired Owner of Portland Yacht Serices, 100 West Commercial Street, Portland.

“It was a sad thing that the whale got tangled and died,” said Harbor Master Kevin Battle in a recent telephone interview..  “It was emotional for everyone. People really care about these whales.”

Battle was referring to the female whale known as “Chunk” who is alleged to have gotten tangled up in fishing gear and drowned as a result.

Last Thursday afternoon Chunk was hauled from the Fore River using a boat lift  at Portland Yacht Services. a boat yard owned by  wealthy Cape Elizabeth resident Phineas Sprague, Jr., 76, who is also retired from his boat yard business.

In his professional capacity, Harbor Master Battle  had learned of the landing of Chunk at PYS.  He stopped there to see if he could  assist in the endeavor.  Instead, he took a photo and posted it on-line. That photo caught the attention of several news outlets that couldn’t gain access to PYS because of the feds “no press” order – a restriction that Battle was not aware of he told this blogger,  Sprague emailed mhn.com that Battle let the “cat out of the bag” by posting the photo on-line.

Strongly enforced at Portland Yacht Services, (PYS) was a “no comment, no press” order in place by the feds for the boat yard’s personnel according to Sprague in an email to this blogger..The feds, with whom PYS had a contract, did not want any attention brought to Chunk from the local press.

Why not – what were the feds covering up from the press?