"I can hear them, they're blowing bubbles," he said. "Wow. That is so cool. What a special treat. I've seen loads of whales but they just come to say hello." However, the paddleboard got scared when the whales started slamming his boat. He temporarily stopped filming. In total, it stayed like that for hours.
"I'm two hours in now to roam with these thousands of whales," he said when the camera is back on.
Whales Ram Paddleboarder
"One dinged the boat earlier but I don't know what to do," Waddington said. "I'm s-ting myself they're gonna hit the boat. I can't believe it. It's an amazing sight but also so scary."
Eventually, the whales swam away and left him alone.
According to the crew that's monitoring Waddington's voyage from land, the whales eventually swam off and let him continue paddling along toward land. In the Instagram post, Tom's team wrote, "Tom has backed up his voice note this morning with some of the most amazing footage we've ever seen from an ocean rowing boat! ? Yesterday he found himself surrounded by a school of what we believe are long finned pilot whales. Initially ten, then twenty, then more and more! It was an amazing experience until one of the excitable whales slammed into the side of his boat! ??"
They continued, "Whilst Tom could see they were just being playful, he was (rightly) terrified that their fun and games could mean that he loses his rudder in the process! As a solo, unsupported ocean rower, losing a rudder would be a major problem. ? Tom tried to row away from the pod, but they just followed him - and their numbers grew. This school of whales turned into a university of whales! He spent a full two hours rowing whilst surrounded by white water caused by over a thousand whales travelling with him, as he made his way ever eastward! ???"
