A man's quest for an adventure in the Atlantic Ocean turned into a bone-chilling encounter with whales. In a video now going viral, Tom Waddington can be seen surrounded by a pod of pilot whales as he paddled alone across the vast waterbody. Tom, a solo adventurer, was on a trip to England .
This adventure had begun his journey in Canada's Newfoundland. As the day dawned, Tom encountered a light drizzle in the morning, following which he found himself surrounded by "long-finned" pilot whales. Tom has documented his adventure and posted a video on his Instagram handle.
In the caption, Tom said he found himself surrounded by a school of what we believe are long-finned pilot whales. "Initially ten, then twenty, then more and more!" He described the experience as "amazing" until one of the excitable whales slammed into the side of his boat. The situation had intensified; one of the whales had bumped into his boat.
The impact caused him to drop his camera and pause the recording momentarily. "Whilst Tom could see they were just being playful, he was (rightly) terrified that their fun and games could mean that he lost his rudder in the process!" the caption read. "As a solo, unsupported ocean rower, losing a rudder would be a major problem," it added.
Two hours in with the thousands of whales, Tom's voice was a little shaky when he resumed recording the video. "I'm two hours in now with these thousands of whales . One bumped the boat earlier, and I'm really scared they might hit it again.
It's an incredible sight but also frightening." The whales eventually swam away, allowing Tom Waddington to continue his England adventure, "with one of the most incredible experiences imaginable." Amidst the anxiety , Tom managed to capture the pure beauty of the moment, portraying the whales as though they were simply "coming to say hello.
" Watch video here: A post shared by Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington_skier).
