I have had two close encounters with whales - one in my Catalina 27 and the
other in a 12' Styrofoam Snark.
In 1979 I was sailing in my Snark with my daughter Charlotte, who was 11 at the
time, just outside of Dana Point Harbor. I had been drinking and still had a
couple of beers left unopened, when I thought I saw a whale. When I looked at
Charlotte's terrified face, I knew I was not having alcohol or sun induced
hallucinations. The whale surfaced a couple of times before swimming directly
under the Snark, pushing up the keel-board about 4 inches with his back. He
then surfaced again looking directly back at us.
Then, on my birthday in 1981, I was with my husband and daughters on the way to
Catalina in my Catalina. We were stalked by a whale who followed us for nearly
two miles before approaching and surfacing about 20 feet off our starboard
side. This guy was at least five feet longer than our boat.
I had a camera with me both times, but I'll be darned if I wasn't too terrified
to use it.
Charlene
