Viral video: Solo rower gets surrounded by Atlantic whales, see what happens next

Tom Waddington, a dedicated ski coach, has successfully completed an extraordinary solo rowing journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Waddington, who set out from Newfoundland, Canada, and arrived in the Isles of Scilly, UK, on August 19th, covered a distance of approximately 2,000 nautical miles (around 3,704 kilometers) in just 45 days, 5 hours, and 15 minutes.

This remarkable feat was undertaken in memory of his late girlfriend, Hatty Harrison, who tragically died in a car crash in 2020. Waddington aimed to raise funds for the charity that supported him through his grief. Initially planning to finish his row in Penzance, he was forced to conclude his journey in the Isles of Scilly due to an approaching storm.

While Waddington's journey has been celebrated widely, it was not without its challenges. In a surreal twist, he found himself surrounded by a massive pod of pilot whales. What began as a few curious whales quickly escalated into hundreds encircling his boat. Footage of this encounter, shared on his official Instagram account about a month and a half ago, has recently gone viral.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington_skier)

The Instagram post detailed the intense moment, noting, “Yesterday he found himself surrounded by a school of what we believe are long-finned pilot whales. Initially ten, then twenty, then more and more! It was an amazing experience until one of the excitable whales slammed into the side of his boat.” The post continues, “He was (rightly) terrified that their fun and games could mean that he loses his rudder in the process! As a solo, unsupported ocean rower, losing a rudder would be a major problem.”

Fortunately, Waddington remained unharmed, but the experience underscored the potential dangers of sharing the ocean with such large marine animals. The whales involved were likely long-finned pilot whales, known for their social behavior and tendency to travel in large groups, according to NPR and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.