Whale watchers on a voyage out of Newport Beach, Calif., on Saturday discovered just what means to be “mugged” by a 50-ton humpback whale.
The accompanying footage, captured by Mark Girardeau, shows the whale surfacing just inches from the 36-foot boat, generating an almost euphoric collective response.
“What do you do when a massive whale decides to surface right next to your boat? Well, stay there and enjoy it!” Girardeau wrote Tuesday on the Orange County Outdoors Facebook page.
The humpback whale was encountered during an all-day Pacific Offshore Expeditions trip, and remained with the boat for 30 minutes. When curious whales approach and circle boats in this manner it’s described as mugging behavior.
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The man shown in Girardeau’s video, enjoying the closest view, is Patrick Coyne, who wrote on Instagram:
“Saturday’s trip was one of the best days out on the water I’ve ever had. We had this curious Humpback whale check out our boat multiple times and get extremely close. These gentle giants truly amaze me and you can clearly hear how excited I am in the video.”
While NOAA Fisheries guidelines suggest that boaters remain at least 100 yards from whales, the proper course of action when a whale approaches a boat is to remain idle and let the situation play out.