Whales steal spotlight (again) at legendary Hawaiian surf spot
The accompanying footage shows an 11-year-old surfing at Waimea Bay, but perhaps more impressive is the sight of humpback whales breaching in the background.
“Young Kalama Stratton is putting in his time at Waimea Bay with a few whales breaching out the back,” The Inertia described Tuesday on Instagram.
Two distant whales are shown leaping, one after the other, as Stratton drops in at the legendary big-wave destination on Oahu’s North Shore.
The clip is somewhat reminiscent of an extraordinary scene memorialized eight years ago up the coast at Pipeline.
The top image, captured in 2014 by J.T. Gray of North Shore Surf Photos, shows a humpback whale mother and calf riding a wave just beneath the surface.
“The whales were 75 to 100 yards east of Pipeline and playing for a while, then swam to about 10 yards outside of the lineup,” Gray explained at the time. “A set came in and the bodyboarder caught the first wave, and the humpbacks caught the second.”
Image captured in 2014 by ©J.T. Gray/North Shore Surf Photos
While humpback whale sightings are common at this time of year, the gregarious mammals are rarely spotted in the surf.
Said Gray:“Whales frequent Hawaii in the winter months, but never that close to shore.”