Sometime last year, I was sitting in the lineup at LA’s Zuma Beach. It wasn’t very fun, but it was better than sitting at home. As I stared vacantly out at the horizon, willing some kind of wave to show up, I felt something I have a hard time describing. It was as though the water around me changed density–it felt heavier. The water felt as though it was being pushed and compressed towards me and around me at the same time. Very strange. A few seconds after, a small (relatively, at least) humpback appeared about 15 yards away from me. It didn’t breach, it didn’t spout, it merely cruised by slowly. Still, it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced. Two paddleboarders took off after it and followed the massive creature north. It made my whole week better. Sure, one can imagine the size of something like a humpback, but actually being in the water with one is a whole different story.
So I can’t even imagine what Beau Pilgrim must’ve felt while he was diving off the island of Tonga. Humpback breaches are rarely filmed from start to finish, and Beau got the show of a lifetime.
“It was the most surreal and incredible experience last week in Tonga,” he wrote. “Being metres from this humpback whale when it breached and landed next to me. Such an amazing adrenaline rush!”
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