Capt. Larry Hartmann had never witnessed anything like it: majestic fin whales swarming the 34-foot boat and interacting like playful dolphins as Hartmann and four passengers watched in amazement. At one point a 60-foot whale rolled over like a puppy just beneath the surface alongside the vessel (see video).
This rare event, involving the world's second-largest whale species (blue whales are the largest), occurred Wednesday about 10 miles off Dana Point in Orange County, Calif.
"It's so beyond anything you can even imagine," said Hartmann, a veteran skipper for Dana Wharf Whale Watching. "Typically with fins, it's three breaths and down they go. Nobody has ever had this happen. No way. It's impossible."
Curious vessel approaches involving fin whales are not unheard of, but the type of behavior Hartmann described might make a person think he was referring to much smaller and more gregarious humpback whales.
There were between 6-10 fin whales, each measuring about 60 feet, and at times they'd accelerate as they neared the boat, then dive beneath its hull at the last second. Hartmann and his group were alone until a speed boat arrived. It's crew shut off its engine and the fin whales swarmed that boat.
When the speed boat boat departed, the sleek leviathans returned to the boat Hartmann was piloting. At several points he was concerned for the safety of his passengers because fin whales have been known to breach.
These particular whales remained beneath the surface, however. "The family I took out keeps calling me because they still can't believe what happened," Hartmann said. "It was so surreal to be out there by ourselves, with no wind and with all of this happening."
Sporadic fin whale sightings continue to be made off Orange and Los Angeles counties.
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