Over the last couple of months, surfers have been encountering killer whales along the Southern California coastline.
There’s been a handful of orca sightings from a safe distance, like Blair Conklin’s drone footage and the video of an orca whipping a sea lion with its tail.
Then there’s the increasing number of orca encounters where surfers get up close and uncomfortably personal with the black-and-white whales. For example, the guy who paddled through a pod of killer whales, and the foil surfers in the clip below.
The clip above comes from photographer Saxon Thomas Chang. Captioning it, he wrote:
“Orcas in San Diego came and checked us out while downwind foiling from Mission Bay to Oceanside.
“When we were passing through La Jolla Canyon @kyleknoxisand @jonlaunais started shouting ORCAS! They popped up close by and started to check out @avinamark on the sup, circled us from beneath the ski and played in the wake for a few exhilarating minutes before disappearing.
“Unforgettable experience! Thank you for coordinating the run and showing us how it’s done @chuckglynn.”
The clip shows a pod of foil surfers and jetski drivers cruising through a pod of killer whales. The person behind the camera is freaking out as the rest of his crew gets surrounded by orcas.
Chang’s followers got the conversation going. Here’s a few of their comments below:
“Wow. Really looked like they were trying to decide if you guys were edible.”
“Dude they’re called killer whales for a reason. They’re hunting him.”
“The adrenaline must have been off the charts.”
“What an incredible experience!!! Thanks for sharing with us.”
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