Breathtaking Footage Shows Two Women On A Kayak Almost Being Swallowed By A Humpback Whale
Two women out for a peaceful kayak trip off Avila Beach ended up in a moment nobody could have planned for. A humpback whale surfaced so close to their kayak that the encounter looked straight out of a survival movie.
Julie McSorley and her friend Liz were whale-watching when the water suddenly turned chaotic. The whole scene was caught on camera, and the footage quickly spread online because the whale came terrifyingly close to swallowing them.
They made it back to shore, but the video left plenty of people stunned. Read on.
Julie McSorley already went whale-watching once before in Avila Beach
When her friend Liz Cottriel came to visit her, Julie suggested they go kayaking to see the whales. Liz was incredibly hesitant about joining her friend, saying that she was scared of the ocean, feared sharks, and was simply uneasy about anything she couldn't see in the water.
Julie convinced her to go and reassured her that whales would never capsize them and that their kayak was very stable. Julie should have listened to Liz.
Liz went with Julie just for the experience
Sam McMillan happened to be there to capture the humpback whales when they surfaced to eat. He was merrily taking photographs and didn't even realize that Liz and Julie had almost been swallowed by the whale.
Hearing other paddle boarders yell "Are you okay?" to Julie and Liz clued him in to what was going on, but it wasn't until he got home and saw his photos that he realized the gravity of what had happened
Julie and Liz themselves didn't realize that they were so close to being whale food because everything happened so fast
And just like the humpback whale that leapt near a fishing boat, size is the real danger.
The two women followed the humpbacks as they surfaced
They watched swarms of fish from a safe distance, surely followed by the whale that feeds on them. After a few minutes, the women would go to where the whale had just been and wait for the next swarm of fish to show up.
Julie was documenting their whole kayaking adventure, and nothing incredible happened for a while
Until the fish appeared right next to their kayak...
... and the next thing they knew, they had been dumped from their stable kayak
Julie saw the swarm appear right next to their kayak but thought nothing of it because she had seen whales breach right next to kayaks with nothing of note happening. Except for this time, they were lifted out of the water and spent a few milliseconds in the whale's mouth before being dumped into the ocean.
A few other paddle boarders and whale watchers managed to capture the incredible incident
That was the moment the calm outing turned into pure chaos.
Everyone was shocked and thought for sure that Julie and Liz were harmed
The other kayakers immediately went to the women's rescue. Liz and Julie reassured them that they were okay and were able to paddle back to shore.
They didn't realize what had happened until they saw the videos later on. The other people told them that they had been in the whale's actual mouth before being dumped into the water.
Other than a few fish in their shirts, Julie's missing car keys, and one hell of a story to tell, the two friends went home safe and unharmed. Julie said she won't be kayaking near any whales in the future because she learned that the animals need their space, but she will definitely paddle near dolphins, otters, and seals.
Want more than a near miss, read how one man survived being swallowed by a whale.
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