November 3rd, 2016

McGee's Incredible Surprise

• It was the second week of October I was on the boat with Biologist Ron Leidich, Captain Arson, and a family of three and a long time friend, Bob Gross.
  
• The day was perfect to go out and look for whales; it's like the stars aligned and the water gods said 'go forth and get your whales for the skies are blue, the sun is shining, the sea is glass smooth, and visibility is down to 80 feet', and the tropical breeze was rushing past my body. Captain Arson kicks it in to full speed and East we go.
  
• A couple miles out, not too far, you can still see Palau. We spent about 4 hours looking for these big babies. We almost lost hope 'til Captain Arson's sharp eye spotted them from a distance. You can see 3 to 4 water spouts spraying 10 feet out of the ocean. My heart was pumping and my blood was rushing. Everybody on the boat was pumped. We set the kayaks on the water and paddled to them. As we got closer, to our surprise there were about 13 lady whales. We spent about 3 hours with them which was awesome! But something amazing happened just before we were about to depart. One of the whales came so close to my kayak; my guest Sam and I froze... didn't know what to do but leave our paddles above water. By the time the whale was 5 feet next to us she lifted her  head out of the water and made a sound from her melon sack which is located on the front of her head. The sound was so loud that you can feel the impact on your chest. It sounded like claps. After she free dove 20 feet under our kayaks and turned belly side up to receive the sound she created through her lower jaw. It was amazing! Later on Sam and I found out the whale came that close to us was a mother because it was not only her that came up to see us but even her baby did too. As you look to the photos, you will see.
  

Photo Credits: Ron Leidich