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Ken Bondy
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Whale Encounters
I think some Nomads might be interested in this.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s I, my family, and my friends had many encounters with fin whales in the waters off of San Francisquito. I became
aware of a New Zealander named Wade Doak who was collecting reports of encounters with whales and dolphins, and after one particularly memorable
experience, I got in touch with him. He interviewed me about the encounter, and published an account of it in his book, "Encounters With Whales and
Dolphins", Sheridan House Inc., Dobbs Ferry, NY, 1988, (ISBN 0-911378-86-3), page 230. The book is pretty interesting for those who like this kind of
thing. Here is the complete report as it appears in the Doak book:
"The fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, is a sleek, fast giant. Exceeded only by the blue whale in size, it grows to around 22 metres and can
maintain more than 30 kph for long periods. Reputed to show little interest in boats, this is clearly changing in areas where it is protected.
On 20 November 1982, Kenneth Bondy [I'm sure I told him "Ken", the "Kenneth" was his idea] and two friends were fishing in the Sea of Cortez, 650
kilometres south of Mexicali. Sixteen meters from their orange inflatable, a large fin whale blew. They hauled in their lines. Two minutes later it
blew again, three metres away. With the third blow it was heading straight for them. Gracefully it glided beneath their hull, pausing with a slight
roll to view the object above. They estimated its length between 16 and 20 metres.
Then the whale began spy-hopping close by, rising vertically until the eye was just out of the water and the tip of the rostrum two metres above.
These postures were held for several seconds, with slight movements of body and flukes to maintain position. The contact lasted over 40 minutes with
the whale showing every two to three minutes. It was visible to the men for the entire period, circling below them and manoeuvring [sic] between
surfacings. "We were spellbound by this amazing encounter and the obvious communication with this enormous, gentle creature." [My quote  ]
The episode ended when another boat motored over, thinking they were in trouble. The whale surfaced ten metres away and left."
It happened more than 25 years ago but it still gives me chills thinking about it. If anyone is interested used copies of the hardcover book are
available from Amazon. I just bought one in good condition for $5.00.
++Ken++
[Edited on 3-3-2008 by Ken Bondy]
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Paulina
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Thank you for sharing that Ken. What an amazing gift you received, and for over 40 minutes!!! I always feel lucky when I'm allowed a close look, but
to have been an audience as you were to that whale, it must have been awesome. No wonder it still gives you chills.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Natalie Ann
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That's one pretty amazing magical encounter, Ken. The whale must have known he/she was communicating with good people.
Nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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sylens
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awesome experience, ken. thank you for sharing. gave me goose bumps to imagine watching for 40 minutes. wow.
lili
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Martyman
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Ken;
Do you have any photos of your experience?
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Kell-Baja
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Wow what a great experience that will never be forgotten.
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Mexitron
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Those whale encounters are something--I've had them too--quite mystical those beings eyes are!
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Ken Bondy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
Ken;
Do you have any photos of your experience? |
Martyman, I WISH!!! No, we were fishing from an inflatable that day and not a single camera was on board. Of course
I have taken much heat over the years from my two fishing buddies about that.
++Ken++
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Wiles
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Ken, I've enjoyed viewing all your fantastic photography (both above and below the water line) and reading about your Baja experiences.
Whale encounters can be incredible. This thread has raised my curiosity just a bit. And I make these comments and ask these questions with all due
respect.
1. Were you able to positively ID this guy as a finback?
2. The conditions looked fishy, right? Signs of bait in the water, birds working the area, and hopefully some fish on the boat. How clean was the
water? Any plankton or bait balls?
3. You said the whale began spy-hopping close by and the encounter lasted about 40 minutes. About how many times did he spy-hop? Were any other
behaviors observed? Was there any indication that he was feeding? Did you observe him on his side at the surface or see the rorquals expanded?
The reason I ask these questions is because finbacks are not known for spy-hopping like grays or humpbacks. In fact, I’ve never heard or read of
this behavior being associated with finbacks and find it very interesting.
If you have more recollections of this event, I for one would like to hear more.
Thanks
One possible editing note. I think the part that reads "grows to around 22 metres and can maintain more than 30 kph for long periods." is reversed.
I believe the correct statement would be more like 'grows to 30 metres and can maintain more than 22 kph for long periods'
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Ken Bondy
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Wiles:
I'll do the best I can to answer these but remember it was 25+ years ago.
1) Yes, the asymmetrical coloring made a positive id. Fortunately I was aware of that at the time and clearly noticed it. Plus he/she was roughly
three times as long as the 16' inflatable which put him/her out of range of most other species that we saw at San Francisquito.
2) We were on what we called the deep reef (about 100 fsw) about a mile off the north point at San Francisquito. Water was very clean, no birds, no
visible plankton or bait balls, fishing slow. To the best of my recollection we had caught no fish when the whale started playing with us. It was a
place we went when there was no action on the surface. With deep jigs we would often catch yellowtail there when nothing else was happening.
3) The spy-hopping was constant and continuous for most of the 40 minutes. He/she would rise up, hold the position for mayby 10-15 seconds, slowly
slide back down, go horizontal just below the surface, slowly swim to another location (often going under the inflatable to the other side) and then
up came the head again. Hard to remember, but he/she must have spyhopped at least 30 times. That was absolutely extraordinary, the whale was
examining us from every angle. He/she was clearly fascinated with the boat and maybe even us. BTW the boat was a Metzeler, bright orange-yellow.
That may have been of interest to the whale. One other thing that I do remember that didn't make it into Doak's book -- I believe every spyhop was
oriented so that he/she was looking at us with the same eye. I think it was the left eye, that I can't remember, but I do remember talking about that
with my two friends in the boat, and we all thought that the whale was looking at us with the same eye each spyhop.
I went back and checked the book, the way I posted it was the way it appeared in the book (22 metres and 30 kph). That was Doak's statement, not
mine. I think you are correct, it seems to me that I have heard that finbacks get to about 90 feet.
++Ken++
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Alan
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While no where near as neat as Ken's encounter, last summer I was fishing a paddy off SoCal for dorado along with another boat. The dorado kept
jumping around the paddy but had no interest in any of our offerings. One of the guys on the other boat finally got tired of trying to entice a bite
so he donned a snorkel and fins, grabbed his spear gun and set out to get one. While he was in the water trying to get a bead on one of the dorado a
whale (I'm assuming a grey) approached us and swam within about 50' of the diver. We were all jazzed thinking how b-tchen it must of been to be in
the water with that thing (not enough to make me want to enter the food chain but cool for him) and that it had to be an experience of a lifetime.
After the whale swam on by we motored over to the diver and asked "How cool was that"! He asked how cool was what? We explained that a huge whale
just swam by within 50' of him and he said he never even saw it.
In Memory of E-57
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Ken Bondy
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Wiles I realize I didn't fully answer #3:
I did not see any other behavior beside the spyhopping. To my knowledge the whale was not feeding, the rorquals were never expanded. He/she clearly
rolled to one side several times, that happened each time he/she went directly under the boat. I have always assumed that the rolls were to get a
better view of the bottom of our boat. Hope this helps,
++Ken++
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Ken Bondy
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One more thing, Wiles, I am pretty sure I didn't overestimate the 40 minutes. About fifteen minutes into the encounter we all realized that something
special was happening and I noticed the time and checked it again 30 minutes later when the other boat arrived and the whale stopped spyhopping.
++Ken++
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Ken Bondy
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Great story Alan. I wonder how many whales have swam by me when my head was in the reef looking for nudibranchs 
++Ken++
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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Wow, thanks for sharing that with us Ken...and Wiles is right that that is very unusual behavior for a fin whale...I look forward to sharing my
amazing fin whale story with you someday Ken...many of you know it and can attest to it's one of those "must be told in person" tales....I can tell
you though that I would in all probability NOT be posting this today if it weren't for those two fin whales who saved my skin nearly thirty years
ago.....changed my life thats for sure.
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Iflyfish
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Ken,
Wonderful story Ken.
I have heard reports from others of their whale encounters and a sense that the whales were communicating with them. It is clear that you believe that
the whale was observing you. Did you experience other feelings or sensations while it was watching you? "Did you sense it was attempting to
communicate with you? Whales are considered fellow sentient beings by many nations and there is a literature that describes whales saving lives etc.
Thanks,
Iflyfish
Iflyfish
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Wiles
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Ken
Thanks much for your response.
I purposely left out one of the major identification tags (asymmetrical coloring) for a finback to see if your ID of that guy was accurate. It would
be next to impossible to miss on a spy-hopping finback. You nailed it. At approximately 48 ft in length , it could have been a match for various
other species common to that area. namely Bryde’s, Sei and even occasional Grays . Your fin encounter involved a sub-adult which may have some
significance in the behavior display.
30 spy-hops, WOW!! And at SF, what a place, huh?
I too have had them make many passes underneath my 13’-6” Avon. You suddenly realize how small you really are in comparison. It’s even more
impressive from when you‘re in the water with them. It’s like watching a silent freight train cruise by.
Thanks Ken for sharing your story. I enjoyed it, I learned something, and it brought back memories of past experiences. This is what Baja Nomad is
all about.
Wiles
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Wiles
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For those who haven't seen a finback and for size reference, here is a picture of one. The Avon is 13'-6" This was taken at BOLA.......about the
same time era of Ken's encounter.
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Ken Bondy
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shari would love to hear your story someday.
Iflyfish I didn't get the sense that the whale was trying to communicate. I think the animal was merely curious, probably about the boat. The bright
color may have had something to do with that.
Wiles, thanks for your comments. It was a magnificent experience. I have been in the water with humpbacks and grays, hard to describe in words what
a life-changing experience that is. Here is a photo from my experience with the gray:
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Ken Bondy
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Wiles great photo of the fin whale! Looks like more than 50 ft between the dorsal and the blowhole. Sure wish I had a camera on board when this
happened to me,
Thanks,
++Ken++
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