Close Encounters - Day 60
JJ Rowers
Jamie Facer-Childs and James Thysse
Sat 20 Jun 2009 09:49
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Close Encounters
– Day 60
What would you do if
two whales longer than your boat start circling around you and then, hopefully
out of curiosity, they nudged the bow? This is what happened to Jamie and
James this week. Believe it or not, the rowing stopped as these enormous (30
metres plus) creatures weaved about the boat. In fact the excitement on the boat
at seeing these intelligent and wondrous creatures was feverish – that is the
only way I can explain that one of the rowers lost his head and jumped in to
swim with them. Let us not compare the intelligence of the rowers with that of
the whales but Jamie's desire to see them meant he put on his goggles, put his
head in the water, couldn't see them and ended up overboard. He lived to tell
the tale that it was a truly wondrous experience – the only side of the story I
don't have is how the whales took to it because not long after they were gone. I
am not sure if this is the kind of recording that Earthwatch wanted but I am
looking forward to the pictures which Jamie tried to take with his waterproof
camera – but will only appear on their website after they return since their
laptop no longer functions.
Roy
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