Talldude chasing whales..

[TallDude]

I've had lots of encounters over the years with sharks, dolphins and whales. I had a couple of dolphins swimming along side of me while I was paddling fast on my unlimited about a mile out. One was an all white dolphin who proceeded to blow dolphin snot out it's breather holes just as the wind blew it in my face. I've shared waves dolphins a number of times (as have a good number of most people who surf). A friend of mine and I had grey whales swim right under us, playing back and forth. A couple of years ago I had a Humpback surface right next to me ( 30 to 40 yards away) just to check me out. Scared me at first when I saw this thing that looked like a submarine surfacing. Then realized it was a whale. It got wider and wider, probably 10 feet across. Then I saw it's eye looking at me. The awesome moment when you make that kind of eye contact:) Then almost it's whole body surfaced to the little hump with the dorsal fin. It was the size of a school bus. It's tail never came out of the water. I just stopped paddling and watched it go. I never saw it surface again. A friend that was a couple of hundred yards away from me took a picture of me and the whale and post it on FB. I don't do FB so I never saw it.

[RideTheGlide]

over literally hundreds of sessions from long island down to monmouth nj over many years, i have never once seen a shark

i did see a huge GW breach with a turtle in its mouth at spanish house a while ago! prolly 150 yards from the lineup

locals werent impressed--surfed on!

make sure the eyes dont look like turtle eyes!

My point was that the odds of being injured by a whale that you see are probably lower than being injued by a shark you don't see,

Here is one of the craziest things I have ever seen recorded in NC (where I am). I plan to paddle out to CLO this year; that was a rarely seen episode. Looks like something out of sharknado but it was legit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/health-science/shark-feeding-frenzy-at-a-north-carolina-beach/2014/10/15/2db1c6e2-54a6-11e4-b86d-184ac281388d_video.html?utm_term=.d1c2744a5be8

[Bulky]

Pretty awesome, TD.  Not quite the time of year in these parts for whales, but starting in March I always carry my GoPro with me.  Reminds me of an unforgettable morning a few years back...

(sorry, but I'm forgetting how to embed the video, but it's worth the jump)

https://player.vimeo.com/video/129519393

[TallDude]

That's a great video Bulky. I remember you posting that. You were right on top of them. If I ever get that close, I'm going to stick my GoPro under water.

[eastbound]

wow--nice, relaxing video--after a long day by me--thx

hope youre doing well, bulky