A Whale's Tale

I just got home from the most amazing vacation I've ever had. It was short - 4 days 3 nights - and it was aboard a 34' Hunter sailboat owned and captained by B3's friends, Ed and Sue. We were invited along their little excursion up to Desolation Sound then south to Texada Island. Now - I have to say this - a sailing trip for me would have been epic enough. I love the ocean. I love to sail. I love our coast line. And the little adventure of pulling into port to some of these teeny-tiny communities is delightful (Refuge Cove...I could have visited you longer). We even saw a pod of 3 humpbacks just to our port side, in the distance, travelling north while we travelled south. I had never seen whales in the wild before and declared it the Best. Day. Ever. I took a boat-load of pictures you might say, and if you had talked to me in the early morning hours of day 4 I would have told you my vacation had been excellent. Beautiful. The best. All the superlatives. 

Then things got interesting. 

The strait was a little choppy on our trip home and I will admit to feeling a little woozy. To be safe I popped a Gravol, sipped a ginger ale and watched the horizon to keep the sea-sickness at bay. That is, until Ed shouted, "Whale at 1:00!" I instantly leapt to the side of the boat to see. I saw a disappearing tail and then nothing. This humpback had taken a deep dive and it was hard to tell when and where it might surface in relation to where our boat was headed. Ed made the decision to put the engine into neutral to see if the whale might reappear. We all searched the water around us hoping it  might resurface. Then, the unimaginable happened. This massive creature swam right up to the starboard side of the boat, so close I could have reached out to touch it. Let's just say, when something this size and that powerful makes an appearance like that - you are awash in equal parts awe, fear and curiosity. We were stunned. Not knowing his intentions, we were very careful but it soon became apparent that this guy was not there to harm, but to interact with us. Entertain. Show off. Say Hi. His back would break the surface first, blowing water through it's massive blow hole - that actually is not a hole but two nostrils that dilate to blow then contract when emptied. His head would then arch out of the water and he would twirl. We saw his barnacled chin while he turned,then his knobby head would appear. He swam on his back as if he wanted us to rub his ridged belly then his white pectoral fin would rise up in the air and he would wave. I could have stretched out my hand and given him a high-five at any time. 

We had no idea how long he would stay and while we wanted to just experience the moment, we also wanted to record this encounter. But we needn't have worried; he was in no hurry. He seemed to enjoy our company as much as we enjoyed his. What astonished us was how playful he was - and cheeky too. As I poised my phone to take a picture of him surfacing, he seemed to take aim and blew stinky sea water that had been swirling around in his big old whale belly, showering me in delightful stench. I squealed and ducked but it was too late. He took great delight in this game, the upper deck where B3 and Ed were standing getting showered again and again - like a one sided super-soaker water fight. 

There was a poignant moment that I keep replaying over and over in my head. Sue was curious where  his eyes were situated. I knew they were down the side of his head behind it's mouth and with each roll he would make right beneath us, I would try to point out the slits where his eyes were. His eyes were closed on these successive turns but then suddenly he turned and his eye was open, deep and dark and looking straight as us. And I have to tell you this - it was so emotionally moving and deeply spiritual - as though woman and beast had made a connection. They say the eyes are the windows to a soul and that is what I felt as I held his gaze. The overwhelming feeling was that there is something far greater and wiser than me - than us - in this universe. We humans think we know so much - control so much - when we actually know so little and control nothing. What grace this behemoth showed us. What joy he willingly bestowed. 

After an hour passed, we were all in this state of mental and emotional exhaustion; worn out from the awe and excitement. The whale seemed to be thinking the same thing as he took a few wider swims around the boat. Feeling it was safe enough to start the engines, Ed slowly pulled away, and our humpback followed us for quite awhile until he too decided it was time to part. We are still on our whale high 24 hours later. The whole thing seems absolutely unbelievable and there are literally not adequate words in the human language to describe it. The shenanigans notwithstanding, I will not easily forget that moment when I connected with that gentle giant. Eye to eye. Soul to soul.  

High Five. Photo Credit: Annette Moore Copyright 2018

Eye to Eye Soul to Soul. Photo Credit: Annette Moore Copyright 2018

The Roll. Photo Credit: Annette Moore Copyright 2018