Whale Tale - Paddling with a Southern Right.
[Editor: Dawid Mocke of Surfskischool South Africa had this incredible experience with an inquisitive Southern Right Whale a few days ago...]
Awesome Surf Ski School
So Saturday's
Surfskischool was not lekker at all; it was not good, great or even nice......IT
WAS AWESOME!!!! The sea was like glass, the water was warm, there was
no wind, birds were singing, people were smiling...and we were paddling.
And then there was the whale.....
Now, you all need to understand something about whales, despite that fact that
they are social creatures, there are also extremely inquisitive. I know
this because on numerous occasions I've had whales swimming right up to where
we had been training to see what was going on. I have been circled and
followed by whales and have thus come to learn about their curiosity. On Saturday,
as we started the 8am Ocean Expert session, one of the guys mentioned that
there was a whale just off the point towards Kalk Bay.
This is a fair distance away, but I knew that before long we would have a
little...sorry...large, visitor. What I did not know was the extent of
such visit.
Brett the whale arrives - "Hello!"
So, as our session was drawing to a close we started noticing our friend the
whale (who we should call "Brett") coming closer and closer, rolling
over, diving down and sending plumes of spray into the air. Brett the Whale
came steadily closer to see what these humans were doing paddling up and
down. We weren't paying too much attention to Brett until, suddenly, he
was a mere 50meters from us. He rolled over showing us his huge fin,
almost as if we was waving a "Hello"; and that gesture caught
everyone's attention. And just as suddenly he had got our attention, he
dissapeared under the water, and all we could see was a massive dark shadow
approaching the group.
"Where is it now?"
The ominous silence was only broken by the sloshing ripples on the water's surface as this huge mass approached us. Someone in the group (I think it was Jasper) voiced the obvious question on everyone's minds with a high pitched: "Where is it now?" and "Where is it going?" Then, ever so gently and as if to answer the question, Brett the whale decided to say hello to Alex Capostagno. As a father plays horsey-horsey with his child, Brett the whale slowly and gently came up under Alex's ski, lifting it completely out of the water. No-one really knew what to do. There were some "Wows" and "Awesomes" and then the occasional nervous laugh.
I think we all just kind of expected Brett to submerge and leave as his behaviour was a complete surprise to us, however it seemed like Brett the whale wasn't surprised at all and was acutally quite enjoying his back rub. The whale proceded to swim extremely tight circles around Alex and her surfski, displaying the agility one would never expect from a creature so large. Alex, blushing, in the meantime was as calm as Valentino Rossi is at 200km/h and maintaining exceptional balance. We're not sure if she was blushing because of being the centre of the group's, nay...the entire beach's attention or of being the obvious recepient of Brett the whale's affection.
"Are you ok?!"
Needless to say, her nervous laughter was met by semi-sincere: "Are you okay"s all around. I say "semi-sincere" since the circle around Alex and her new boyfriend was getting noticingly larger all the while everyone was asking if she was okay and needed help. Then, I think just to show off, he lifted Alex out of the water again with his tail and this time succeeded in tipping Alex out of her surfski. Obviously realising how fragile was his human masseus, the while slowly dropped his tail and dived, swimming to the outside of the group. Then, like a puppy runs circles in the garden, the whale proceded to swim around and around doing loops and showing fins, quite clearly enjoying this game with his new friends. Unfortunately his new friends were a bit taken aback and a quick consensus was reached to return to shore (which incidentally was only 80metres away). Upon reaching terra firma there was an explosion of conversation as by-standers from the beach joined us paddlers in reliving the moment. In the mean time Brett the whale was left hanging just off backline, wondering where his new buddies dissappeared to. He seemed to be waiting.
Folks, this was not the end of Brett the whale's morning playtime just yet. Once the excitement had ebbed to a manageable 'ecstatic', some of the guys decided to go for a cruise paddle to Glencairn. Not wanting to push the boundaries anymore than what has already been done, they gave Brett a wide berth. Not wide enough to give him the slip though. Noticing the paddlers heading out of the bay, the last we saw of Brett was him following the group out past Sunny Cove clearly in search if another barnacle scratch.
So thus ends the the tale of the Brett the whale and his new girlfirend Alex Capostagno, who never said a word to "Brett the whale" about her other "Brett" the homo-sapien.
Dawid's school operates out of Fish Hoek several days a week. For all the info, check out:
(He won't guarantee that Brett will be back however...)