Nature encounter stories

Hunter216

Hunter216

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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
I came across this today and was curious about what other “up close” encounters people have had?


The most dramatic one I had was a sea kayak voyage near North Pender Island. Gliding along on a calm windless day and I noticed a number of boats approaching slowly. Next thing I notice is a slight ripple on the surface that gradually turned into the dorsal fin of a male orca coming right at me. He submerged and passed underneath, I could feel the surge as he passed. An entire pod went by and left me in their wake. I can close my eyes and re-experience it like it just happened.
 
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shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,076
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Not that close. But fishing off the South coast of Long Island we used to see all kinds of critters including whales. This was in the '70's. They would breach on one side of the boat, dive and re-appear on the other. Usually a comfortable distance away. But being young I would wonder why they avoided our boat. They didn't need to and maybe they held a grudge about the harpoon thing. It was a thrill. Dolphins were fun and each was like Flipper to me. We learned that when the Dolphin were around the fishing would be bad. There were all kinds of sharks. Great Whites, Blue Sharks, Hammerheads, Tiger Sharks, Thrashers, Makos. But the time I was in my teens I could ID all of them in the water. I can't do that now. Probably because I wasted all that time in school.
 
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Michael Davis

Michael Davis

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Jan 5, 2017
2,265
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
Whales seem to be making a big come back here on the Pacific coast. When I was a kid we had an Orca scratch his back on the keel of our Thunderbird. Shaken not stirred. Had a Minke surface so close a couple of years ago that I couldn't see water between our boat and him. This past summer we had several Humpbacks within a boat length of us. They are so impressive to be so close to.
 
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nightowle

nightowle

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Aug 28, 2006
564
Bavaria 35E seattle
On a 26' sloop from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey, CA near Palos Verdes Penninsula an Orca came slowly to the surface about 30' off the beam rolling upward until its eye met mine! Astounding.

Had 3 Orcas following then passing our sloop very close here in Puget Sound a few years ago. And, I've been diving close to a variety of sharks in Bali, as well as the Philippines. I did have a seal come up close, stare at me almost nose to nose and then zoom off at La Jolla cove CA.
 
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SoSound

SoSound

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Nov 21, 2007
633
Beneteau Oceanis 34 Kingston, WA
A number of commercial whale watching experiences in Maine and Alaska. They're good for one thing, they have radios and they communicate within the area as to where the action is! A couple of encounters would qualify as spectacular!

On our own; seals, sea lions, harbor porpoise on a fairly regular basis. A couple of years ago we were motoring in the South Sound in Carr Inlet when we spotted a group of dolphins frantically playing and jumping. And, as if that weren't enough, there was a humpback whale at the same time! There was only one other boat within sight, and they spotted the dolphins, but they never saw the whale! We cut the motor and watched the humpback circle the area for about a half hour or forty five minutes.

Our best orca experience was a little over a year ago, I tell people that we were 'held hostage' by an entire pod of orcas just off of San Juan Island. We were motoring up the west side of the island when we spotted a couple at about lunch time. Then, a few more... and a few more... too close, so we shut the motor off and just drifted. About an hour and a half later, we thought it was about time to carefully find our way out of the crowd, so we'd pick a wide stretch of water between orcas, and slowly make our way further north... An awesome experience!

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Hunter216

Hunter216

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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
Thanks for sharing, makes me miss the ocean. Seeing a lunker large mouth bass on Lake Ontario isn’t quite the same as up close and personal with a creature that could crush me with little effort but chooses to just hang out for a little while.
 
Hunter216

Hunter216

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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
We were out on a snorkel tour on a “cattlemaran” where there were 4 stops. Everyone was in the water for the first 3 having a great time (I got a little stressed trying to keep track of our 6 and 7 years old boys in the “herd” though) ;)
On the last stop the crew dropped a chum bucket into about 40’ of water. The passengers were invited to take their flippers off and hang onto ropes tied to the stern of the anchored boat to view the sharks circling below. Of the 100 people aboard only 3 of us elected to go in the water, one being my 6 yr old. Wonderful experience but I faced many scorned looks and upon coming back aboard one individual started to lecture me about exposing my child to such “danger”. I listened for a bit and then mentioned the fact that his kids had all been in the water just a few kilometres away and that there weren’t any “shark fences” in the ocean. He thought about that for a minute and decided to stop the lecture ;)
 
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jssailem

jssailem

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Oct 22, 2014
21,104
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I am still looking for my Orca sighting opportunity. Just this past September, while crossing the sound from Edmonds to Kingston I had a grey whale (young one) surface and sound several times not more than 25 yards from the boat. He was feeding on an incoming tide along a tidal rip.

In my youth I was surfing off Coronado Beach sitting on my board (one of those long boards form the 60's) when I reached down to give a little paddle and I grabbed a fin. I am 80% sure it was a dolphin that surfaced next to me, but I took no chances. I laid down on the board and paddled as fast as I could go for the shore. Never looked back.
 
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Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,002
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
justsomeguy said:
Baby whale shark (18-20 feet) in Bahia Concepcion. Got about twenty feet from him while rowing like mad.

View attachment 172132
View attachment 172133

And some humpbacks from a bit further away.
Click to expand
Whale sharks are filter feeders. Effectively, no teeth. But, still a good idea to keep a sensible distance from any large wild animals. When they are much bigger than you are, they are generally not afraid of you.
 
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Michael Davis

Michael Davis

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Jan 5, 2017
2,265
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
jssailem said:
WOW Michael.. That was some wild video.
Click to expand
I agree John. I've gone back many times in the last couple of years to see it again. I've only seen a Humpy breach once from much farther away. Still very impressive to see 30 tons of animal flying.
 
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Michael Davis

Michael Davis

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Jan 5, 2017
2,265
Beneteau First 38 Lyall Harbour Saturna Island
Humpbacks have no sonar capability so if one landed on you it would be a mistake. Still cause a world of pain I think.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,375
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
This shot was taken on the "South River" which is a side branch off of the Neuse in North Carolina's outer banks.
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Just after I put the camera away a momma dolphin and her pup poked their noses above the water about 4 feet from my gunwale and just stared at me for about 20 seconds before moving on.

The next morning at that same anchorage, I saw a small black bear walking along the opposite bank. It was a magic week.

Here are a few other shots from that same "South River" The last two are the shore where I saw the black bear but these shot was many hours later.:oops:
 

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kappykaplan

kappykaplan

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May 1, 2011
4,247
Pearson 37 Lusby MD
I was on a Navy 44 in Georges Bank (Western Atlantic) when we all felt the boat lurch. Shortly thereafter, a couple of whales broached - and the water around the boat was brown.
 
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Hunter216

Hunter216

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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
kappykaplan said:
I was on a Navy 44 in Georges Bank (Western Atlantic) when we all felt the boat lurch. Shortly thereafter, a couple of whales broached - and the water around the boat was brown.
Click to expand
Do you think the whales actually rubbed the hull or the surge of displaced water moved the boat?
I wasn’t aware of what a Navy 44 was and found this link, interesting history!
www.usna.edu

Navy 44 Information

Navy 44 page for USNA Sailing Center at USNA.edu. Updated Mon Jan 24 10:01:43 EST 2022.
www.usna.edu
 
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