prime berth fishing museum

Hi Dave (Captain Dave) and Christine,We had a great time visiting the museum. Very interesting walking through all the buildings. That alone was worth the visit but the highlight was certainly the boat tour. To be able to float up next to the icebergs, the whale sightings of the Humpback whale and the Fin Whale, and certainly not to forget the cod fishing. Captain Dave took notice that our son was good on the camera and helped get great pictures as Captain Dave has a keen interest in photography.We were a family of five and joined by a single guest, Ivan Merlin. Ivan was a young at heart gentleman that we since have stayed in contact due to sharing pictures of the experience. What a better way to go on a boat tour with a smaller boat and not to forget the personality of Captain Dave.Thanks for the great memories. Ken and Lisa Schonewille and family.

Just hearing captain Dave on the CBC tonight reminded me I had to write a review for Prime Berth. We were there in the summer of 2013.You can't miss it. As you drive along the causeway into town - there it is beside the whale skeleton. Having had a full week in the area, we didn't go right away; however, spending a few days learning about the history of Twillingate made our visit to Prime Berth spectacular. This museum is project of Dave Boyd - a former teacher, poet and fisherman - who knows the area and loves to tell the stories fishing and the people who braved this rugged region. Don't rush through. Take your time, make sure you're there to hear some live music, or to watch Dave do a demonstration. We watched as he split a cod and told the stories of the early fisheries. There's a lot to see here.We came back another day and Dave took us out in his boat to do some fishing. He thrilled our kids as he expertly drove out into the swells of the open sea. We saw whales and Dave knew just how to choose the right spot to catch some cod. We felt very lucky to have visited Prime Berth and to have spent an afternoon on the water with Dave Boyd. A very knowledgeable gentleman.

We had a great day with Capt. Dave on a Boat trip to the Icebergs off the Coast of Twillingate. We smelled the Icebergs, kissed the fish and enjoyed the newfoundland sun. The museum is amazing! Try it and enjoy it! We will come back!!!

Thanks so much , Heather. You are so kind! Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and prosperous New Year. Visit us again!

This is a fantastic collection of Newfoundland's rich fishing heritage. The work of locals David and Christine Boyd, it consists of several transplanted building housing example of just about everything fishing related. There are things to see from wall to wall, no wasted space, and I really wished I'd had more time to thoroughly enjoy it all. David gave us a nice introduction before setting us loose to explore. The huge Sei whale skeleton is the centerpiece, and all the more impressive given its long journey of recovery and preparation. I also really liked the underwater "fish" camera. This is a must see while visiting Twillingate.

We thoroughly enjoyed this museum and learning about the cod industry. The tour was well done and informative.

Title says it all. Much to learn here, and excellent value. Real insight into the local fishing and especially whaling community.

We stopped at this museum because it had been recommended. There is quite a bit more to it than it appears at first glance. The various displays gave us a good idea about the fishing industry in previous times. I also thought the gift store was one of the better ones we saw on our travels in NL.

I'll try to be politically correct here, given the seriousness of your absurd accusations. First, as for life jackets, rest assured that I have CCG approved life preservers ( horse collar type ) on board in the cuddy compartment for all passengers, as well as flares, first aid kit, vhf radio, cell phone, and am up to date on all coast guard requirements. Being a beautiful day, I did not ask if you wanted to be fitted with one of those uncomfortable horse collar type life jackets, but if you had requested I also have lots of PFD's available. I have been on the water in calm and in storm for 60 years, and I know that the most important life saving consideration is the use of common sense ( not so common anymore ) and always having a plan B, so you don't get yourself into a bad situation in the first place. But, YES, we have Coast Guard Approved Life Preservers on Board at ALL times.If you felt uneasy, why didn't you ask, rather than writing on Trip Advisor to spread the completely absurd idea that I don't have life jackets on board my tour boat. So people, dismiss this notion and rest assured you are in good hands with an extremely cautious and experienced, licenced tour boat and commercial fishing captain, as other of my guests have written.Secondly, you make it appear that if your bf was not on board, the other tourists would not have caught any fish. I thought your bf was having a great time with the rod and reel, as other people fished with hook and line. If I had suggested that he stop fishing and give the reel to other people, you would have been critical of that. Having started fishing with Father when I was big enough to crawl down in the boat, and being on the water for 60 years, fishing in all winds and weather, I don't think I need anyone to show me the location of the best fishing spots or how to catch codfish for my guests. By the way I always try to include ALL my guests equally in conservation and in allowing them an unique experience. However, thank you for your kind words regarding the experiences we provide for tourists, and it is really sad that you had to go on Trip Advisor and write such negativity, when all we strive for at Prime Berth and captain Dave's Boat Tours is to give people on their holidays a whale of a safe & fun time! Best wishes for a safe winter! Capt. Dave

Probably the best boat tour I have been on. Dave took an interest in everyone on the tour (8 of us). His knowledge of the Twillingate area in general and the fishery industry in particular was very impressive.After the tour we agreed that probably every tour was different.This was the perfect way to start our stay in the are.In my opinion, going on a tour with Dave is a "must do" when visiting the Twillingate area.

Had a fun time listening to the Captain and catching cod. We were out of season so we couldn't keep any. But it was fun to see the rugged seashore and catch fish

Capt. Dave is a passionate and knowledgeable fisherman and storyteller. His tour is a real authentic look into the Nfld life from the 50s forward. He's got some poignant and fascinating stories, and is a fine poet to boot. And the displays at the museum are worth a long look. Stop in!

The Prime Berth Museum is located immediately beside the causeway connecting Twillingate Island. The museum itself is a collection of buildings and rooms holding generations of stories from the islands, the fisheries, and the familes who have made their lives there. Items are explained with labels, and snippets of stories and articles, as well as poetry and song written by the owner (Skipper Dave). We had the option of taking both guided or self guided tours.Highlights included:-learning about the rich history of the Twillingate area-visiting the whale skeleton and learning how it came ot be there-watching the tide carry fish and jellyfish along, both at the dock and on the underwater camera-seeing a fully deployed fishing net-salting of cod-seeing the work it took to assemble the museum (literally, including the buildings towed over from other locations)

If you are looking for a great and memorable water tour you should only consider Prime Berth. From what we had heard from other travellers - forget about the other guys, Captain Dave, is the one you want showing you around. Great sense of humour and knows how to keep it quite interesting. We unfortunately didn't have a chance to see any whales this time, not a problem, as we had seen plenty of icebergs (and big ones for that matter), Cod line fishing (no bait, just jig - drop it in the water and 30 seconds to a minute and BAM-- Cod!), and got quite a historic overview of the local area. Before i forget, Dave has quite the boutique museum with a Sei Whale skeleton that you can't miss when entering Twillingate! Thanks Dave for the memories!

Our family (2 adults and 3 children) have not stopped talking about how much fun we had on our boat trip with Dave. All the kids got to jig for cod (within a couple of minutes) they each had caught one. No bait or anything just on a bare hook, they were thrilled! We then went to look for whales and instantly saw two humpbacks which we watched for several minutes, at one point they were only about 20 feet from the boat. Last but not least we drove up to an iceberg, Dave chiseled us an iceberg Popsicle and we got some stunning photos. We have done excursions all over the world and never have we been able to catch huge cod, whale watch and touch icebergs in a 2 hour period! Can't recommend this tour enough, Prime Berth's Tour was one of the main highlights of our trip.