A USA Today article and video tell a sweet story of a close encounter with a Southern Right Whale. PWC rider, Tim Swift, was riding on August 28th when he spotted a huge Southern Right Whale while riding about one kilometer off Dunsborough, Australia. When Smith saw the whale, he shut down his engine and watched. It’s the law that vessels aren’t to come within 100 meters of whales. However, riders are allowed to turn off their machines and wait. That’s exactly what Smith did.
The 40-50ft. whale became curious and swam toward the ski and gently nudged it. Smith said he could have reached out and touched the animal. He sat on his ski watching the whale surface nearby several times. Smith joked that whale’s breath smelled like an old fish and chips shop.
Swift described the encounter as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and added: “I mean it makes everything else pale into insignificance. This connection we had was just amazing.”
He was totally stoked about his experience. Smith was like a kid in the video and who wouldn’t be excited to hang out with a whale for an hour? He said the whale wasn’t the least bit scared of him or his machine. He said he almost jumped in with the mammal and decided against it. Smith feels privileged to have had the encounter. It truly was a gift.
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