On Wed, 02 Nov 2005 20:19:25 -0500, Larry wrote:

Len wrote in
:

A close encounter with a whale when underway would be impressive too
I'm sure. I guess it has to do with (re-)connecting with nature.


I was alone on the midwatch of S/V "Claire's Navie", an Endeavour 35 about
100 miles off the Georgia coast, on a pitch black night with the moon set.
Somewhere around 3AM "something surfaced", making an awful rushing noise
out there in the pitch dark off my starboard beam. I swear I heard it also
"breathe" through its blowhole. The rushing stopped as quickly as it
started and the sounds of the 4-5' quartering seas returned to normal. I
couldn't tell if the "something" made any of the waves that hit the hull or
not in the pitch dark. It must have been your whale. I didn't hear any
screws turning.

Magnificent experience... thanks for sharing.
I'm searching for this photo I must still have somewhere.
I got it from a dutch cruiser who now gives lectures with video
presentation.
During the day a whale came swimming next to the boat. This lasted
long enough for the sailor to climb his maststeps with a camera.
The photo shows the whale clearly turned about 45 degrees up with his
left side. You definitely would say he/she was looking up to what was
happening on deck or to that strange guy hanging in the mast.

Regards, Len.