Very Strange Creature

Yep, that's me. A very strange creature in the water. If you have ever seen me swim, you know that I could easily be mistaken for a drowning cat.

The winds started howling yesterday morning and haven't let up, so I drove to a sheltered bay for my ocean swim this morning. I did not see any dolphins (they occasionally visit that bay) so I slid into the icy wet (hey, to me this winter's water is freezing) and swam for the far cliffs.

Close to the far rock wall I was surprised to see a whale lying on the sandy bottom. It couldn't be a humpback, just lying there on the sand, could it? I looked up ahead of me and there was mom and calf heading right for me. Sure enough, a trio of Humpback Whales! I floated in place and watched them swim giant circles around me for a half hour. They passed close by four times and I managed to get two video clips and many still photos (Click HERE or Below for Today's Video).

I was blue and shivering with cold after thirty minutes of inaction, so I lit out for shore after their fourth time of checking me out. If they couldn't figure me out after four tries, then I think they need glasses. Just before getting back to my starting point, what did I see? A pod of Spinner Dolphins swimming below me. About this time my right thigh seized up in a massive muscle cramp and I couldn't get into position to take photos. There I was sinking and massaging my leg with one hand while desperately trying to get photos of the dolphins with the other. The dolphins did circle a few times, trying to make sense of my strange contortions. Enough, already! I finally managed to haul myself onto the rocks and now, five hours later, have almost gotten warm again. What a GREAT day!