The sun decided to grace us with its presence on a day we could go out, but the sea remained very rough due to high winds. We found high-visibility snorkel colors helpful to keep track of one another in the high swells. Be prepared for tough swims in these conditions -- difficult to establish position with respect to fast moving whales.
Another suboptimal day for photography due to poor vis, but a fabulous one from an encounter standpoint. We found a mother and calf escorted by 3 males -- active on the surface with spyhopping & fin slapping. Swam with them for more than an hour. ( See Richelle's YouTube video with 3 passes by the mother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_RReUFArjw )
Today, I touched a whale .... or more accurately, she "touched" me. While we struggled in the high swells, I attempted to photograph the cow and her calf as they swam by in the sea froth. During my pre-trip research of underwater cetecean photography, I learned to have respect for the whale's enormous tail and had been cautious to maintain a safe distance since our arrival. As the mother passed me, she suddenly changed course and I sensed something rapidly approaching me from the right -- in that split second, I defensively tucked my head while putting forth my right shoulder. The next thing I felt was a truly thunderous blow from a large dense object (her fluke) -- it rattled through my entire skeleton. I was lifted a short distance from the water and my mask was completely knocked off. Uncommon during our numerous animal encounters over the years, a sense of fear briefly came over me -- a close call for sure. I had been "initiated" and luckily escaped with only a few scratches and a bruised arm.
