Boaters Call 911…On Whales. (Video)
By kncitom on October 9, 2018
Being a native of Washington’s Puget Sound region, a life-long boater and lover of all things aquatic, I would have to recommend that these people just consider selling their boat immediately.
Honestly. If you are blessed enough to have not one, not two, but three gray whales approach your boat to spend some serious quality time right next to it…? You should jumping for joy! Hollering to the heavens!
Not calling 911 because you’re afraid the whales will tip you over.
https://twitter.com/_SJPeace_/status/1049431085405360128
OK, to give these folks, especially that one lady, the benefit of the doubt, if you’re not familiar with whales and suddenly a trio of them (each way bigger than the length of your boat) come up alongside you, it could be a bit disconcerting. Totally get that. Understandable. But that guy in the video gets it; he knows what a special moment this is and he does his passionate best to point it out. Then again, it’s tough to listen to reason when you’re losing your mind.
But, but, lady… they’re whales! Gray whales, to boot–the ocean’s version of a friendly, curious, 10-ton dog. And despite their size, they seem plenty agile. You really don’t hear stories of them flipping over boats, even though close encounters are somewhat common. Sometimes, rarely, they have been known to jump out of the water and onto boats…but even then you get the sense it wasn’t deliberate and you can almost imagine them burbling up an apology afterwards.
Regardless, it’s still a great experience, one I’m sure they will remember with a smile on their face the rest of their lives–no matter how many of us standing here on the safe shores of the internet poke a little fun at them.
(All that said, could you imagine the reaction if they’d been with my son Sam and I when we were out salmon fishing on Monterey Bay back in 2016 when this happened…?)
–Tom Mailey
