Assume you are in the middle of nowhere, paddling across the Atlantic. Out of the blue, several pilot whales decided to accompany you. UK-based Ski instructor Tom Waddington was rowing across the waters by himself when he was startled and terrified for his life by several pilot whales. For hours, dozens of enormous beasts followed him, starting as a few playful animals. At least one crashed into his little boat.
On July 7, during the early hours, Waddington, who was kayaking from Newfoundland to England, found himself encircled by whales, as he shared on Instagram.
Waddington can be heard saying, “This is so cool,” on the video.
Indeed, sufficiently cool to have you admitting your sins, just in case.
“A lot of pilot whales are just coming around the boat, playing around the boat. I love it but I’m scared they’re gonna hit my rudder. They’re so close, see?”
“I can hear them, they’re blowing bubbles,” he stated.
“Wow. That is so cool. What a special treat. I’ve seen loads of whales but they just come to say hello.”
Yes, Waddington, they are undoubtedly there to offer you some paddling advice.
He had to drop the camera and momentarily cease shooting when one of the whales banged into his boat, making things suddenly quite dangerous.
His voice had an anxious tone as he started talking again. For the last two hours, Waddington claimed to have been rowing with the whales.
He continued by describing the entire event as both “amazing” and “scary.”
The crew observing Waddington’s journey from shore said that the whales ultimately swam away, allowing him to carry on paddling in the direction of land.
He is travelling 2,000 nautical miles in an arduous effort to collect money for MindCharity, a British nonprofit organisation that supports those suffering from mental illness.
Waddington’s land-based team believes the playful mammals are long-finned pilot whales, which are known to inhabit the North Atlantic and are described as “very social, living in large schools of hundreds of animals separated into close-knit pods of 10 to 20 individuals” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Comments
0 comment