Kayaker Swims With Blue Whale: See Video

A video showing massive blue whales lunge feeding and swimming underwater in Santa Monica Bay is making the rounds on social media, prompting descriptions of "Incredible!" and "Amazing!"

Diver and underwater photography enthusiast Rick Coleman told Patch that he captured the footage of the blue whales while kayaking about four miles out of King Harbor on Oct. 8.

"It was an incredible day, and now it looks like the whales have left," Coleman said, later adding, "[it] looks like it just worked out that I got that amazing, once-in-a-lifetime footage."

According to Coleman, out of the Redondo Beach Marina has reported seeing fewer whales in the last week.

Coleman's footage, shot with a Go Pro camera on a kayak in deep water, shows one of the leviathans lunge feeding for krill on the surface and swimming underwater above the deepwater Redondo Canyon.

"You could actually see the krill on the surface," Coleman said.

"When the whales pop up near your kayak, it can be heart-pounding ... you feel all the excitement through your body as this huge whale comes up," Coleman said. But when he was watching the blue whales underwater, "it was just complete peace and relaxation—it was just surreal...

"No fear, no anxiety—just peace and relaxation ... a beautiful moment."

People who plan to go out on the water for a glimpse of these whales should follow NOAA's guidelines:

• Vessels should not be operated at speeds faster than a whale or group of whales while paralleling them within 100 yards.
• Vessels should be operated at a constant speed while paralleling or following whales within 100 yards.
• Vessels should do nothing to cause a whale to change direction.
• Aircraft should not fly lower than 1,000 feet while within a horizontal distance of 100 yards from a whale.

Generally, a whale's normal behavior should not be interrupted—actions that interrupt normal behavior constitute harassment and are against the law. A whale can show its annoyance by changing direction rapidly, or swimming faster or more erratically.

This article was originally published on Redondo Beach Patch.