Gray Whale at Shaws Cove 12-18-11

Diving with my dad and cousin, then a little California Gray decided to swim in and say hi :)


Note 12-21-11:
Hey everyone! Thanks for the views and comments! Just wanted to say that my cousin posted his video of the encounter here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30xsecrno4I
He catches the whale as it is swimming away and then our reactions after the encounter. You can see me doing the "whale dance" at 42 seconds, my GoPro is dangling and bouncing around haha

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Gray Whale shaws cove
• scuba
• Scuba Diving
• California

[lildevil8411]

Curious -- could you feel the water moving from him swimming around you?  So amazing!

[RIPproductions9]

@lildevil8411 Not really haha there was some surge plus we were all in so much shock I'm sure we wouldn't even notice if a seal nipped up!

[bobsir]

was that the actual sound too?? or added on for effect?? either way, amazing moment there.

[RIPproductions9]

@bobsir the crackle noise is just background noise that is always in the water, The bubbly noise... those are my bubbles haha This video was straight from my GoPro, no editing at all. :)

[vv55sst]

@RIPproductions9 - the "crackling" noise is caused by crustaceans in the water. Diving in So. Cal. you hear it pretty much all the time.

[RIPproductions9]

@vv55sst ah that makes sense! Ya I hear it all the time, normally I figure its just fish munching on the algae on rocks.

[oceandefenders1ODA]

That was a dive encounter of a lifetime. I have over 1,500 dives in So Cal and have NEVER seen a whale while diving. That 51 second interaction will live within you for the rest of your life. Congrats! And thanks for sharing.

Kurt Lieber

[DANAPOINTWHALEWATCH]

Wow amazing we sent this into the news for ya!

[Zeruel3]

An incredible encounter, you must be very happy to have gotten so close to a Gray Whale

[spearocaptron]

wow!!! what an awesome experience. Great job on the video.

[bartanana]

''once in a lifetime experience'' Thank for sharing :D

[The0fficerRadical]

WOW!!!! Such an amazing video I go diving there quite a bit and have never seen anythign that spectacular. What an amazing shot!!!

[1Katdoll]

Awesome and amazing footage! Love it! That would have been so cool to see with my little divers too!!

[oceanvideosorg]

So cool!! You were the luckiest people in Laguna that day...this year...or even the luckiest ever! I loved seeing how maneuverable the whale was. I have forwarded your link to my friend who is head of the Save the Whales organization which she created as a teenager back in the 70s.

[mrfreeze1103]

We dive there and at Woods all the time. Never have we been so lucky as to see a whale. What a great experience for you guys.

[jrsac]

Good for you guys being in the right place at the right time. As a fellow scuba diver I can imagine the excitement this caused for you and how you'll be talking about it for years.

[scrubjay93]

Really unique footage--amazing how graceful they are. Thanks for sharing this great moment with us! I just can't imagine the feeling.

[Ziphiid21]

@vv55sst You mean bottlenose dolphins? We only have one species of porpoise down in SoCal (Dall's porpoise), and they're normally far offshore.