An adventurer paddling alone across the Atlantic Ocean was met with a surprise escort on the high seas: a massive pod of pilot whales that left him both thrilled and scared for his life.
Tom Waddington, who is paddling from Newfoundland to England, found himself surrounded by long-finned pilot whales after a morning drizzle on July 7, he said in an Instagram post.
“It’s really cool,” Waddington said in the video. “A pod of whales come up to the boat and play around the boat. I love it, but I’m afraid they’re going to hit my rudder. They’re so close, you know?”
“I hear them, they’re blowing bubbles,” he said. “Wow. That’s really cool. What a thrill. I’ve seen a lot of whales, but they’re just coming to say hello.”
Things quickly get scary when one of the whales hits his boat, forcing him to drop the camera and temporarily stop filming.
When he resumes, there is a worried tone in his voice.
“I now spend two hours walking around with these thousands of whales,” he said when the camera was turned back on.
“One of these boats hit the boat earlier, but I don’t know what to do,” Waddington said. “I’m worried they’re going to hit the boat. I can’t believe it. It’s an incredible sight, but also very scary.”
According to the crew monitoring Waddington’s journey from the mainland, the whales eventually moved away and left him to continue paddling toward land.
He undertook an arduous 2,000 nautical mile journey to raise money for MindCharity, a British non-profit organisation that helps people struggling with mental illness.
He still has a long way to go, but his team is monitoring his progress on this project.
News Source : nypost.com
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