Most California surfers spend their sessions stressing about small waves, crowds, or maybe even sharks – given the exceptionally high volume of toothy predators lately.
Way out to sea and aboard his downwind foil, Tavis Boise, however, has bigger problems.
Just weeks after filming a viral encounter involving a hydrofoil surfer being chased by a large shark off Santa Barbara, Boise found himself at the center of another wildlife encounter—this time involving two creatures considerably larger.
It was a mother gray whale and her calf.
The incident occurred during an after-work downwind foil session off the coast near Miramar Beach. Boise was cruising along about a quarter mile offshore when something unusual caught his eye.
At first, he spotted what he described as a massive sea lion feeding nearby. Then he noticed two enormous shapes emerging from the water.
“They’re really big. They don’t really look like animals; they look like actual land emerging from the ocean,” Boise later told the Santa Barbara Independent.
Those “islands” turned out to be a mother gray whale and her calf migrating north through the Santa Barbara Channel. Boise slowed down and gave the pair space. The calf appeared curious. The mother appeared protective.
Then, that’s when things got interesting.
Related: Great White Shark Chases Foil Surfer for 10 Miles in Santa Barbara (Video)
Video from Boise’s GoPro shows the whales passing within feet of his foil board. As the mother whale flicked her massive tail, the turbulence and force knocked Boise completely off his board and sent him spinning into the water.
“That was absolutely nuts,” Boise can be heard saying in the footage after resurfacing.
Fortunately, neither Boise nor the whales were injured.
According to Boise, the whales were moving surprisingly fast—roughly six to seven miles per hour—as they continued their journey north. He described the experience as equal parts shocking and magical.
@kai_lenny Our friend Ron getting chased by a Great White Shark while going Downwind on his foil 😳🦈 Good job on getting the shot Tavis! @GoPro
The encounter comes just weeks after another Santa Barbara foil session made headlines when longtime foiler Ron Takeda was pursued for several minutes by a large shark during a downwind run. Despite the close call, Takeda never fell and the shark eventually lost interest.
For Boise, that’s now two viral wildlife encounters in barely a month. Not bad for a guy who was just trying to go foiling after work.
Boise concluded:
“No drone, no boat, just me on my foil and two of the most incredible animals on the planet. It is easy to dream of these wildlife scenarios but once you are actually face to face with a whale, all plans go out the window. This was such a cool encounter and was less than 1/4 mile from shore.”
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