Gray Whale Swims Right Up to Two California Whale-Watching Boats

Two excited groups of whale watchers got an up-close encounter with a gray whale off Southern California’s Dana Point Harbor on February 10.

In footage by Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching, the whale can first be seen swimming right up to a large boat with a railing.

It then swims over to an inflatable craft from Capt Dave’s Dana Point Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, which it slowly swims underneath, even allowing itself to be touched by one of the tourists.

Gray whales pass Dana Point, in Orange County, twice every year during their annual migration to the lagoons off Baja Mexico, according to Dana Wharf owner Donna Kalez.

Kalez commented on the whale’s “friendly” nature and described the encounter as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Credit: DanaWharf.com via Storyful