The bikini-clad surfer and the two Humpback whales…
… where else but in California? 
On Halloween, a surfer in a bikini (in this age and culture of “political correctness,” some had DARED to call her a “Surfer Girl” – good for YOU! And BTW, it was WARM on Halloween!) paddled over to two kayakers a quarter mile from Seabright Beach. All were there to watch humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding close to shore in Santa Cruz. The video is so amazing that some have suggested that it is fake (doubt your politicians and your bankers BEFORE your photographers ). In the background is the Santa Cruz Wharf.
I may be gullible (naw!), but I believe the video to be real. Nature has inspiring images EVERYWHERE, if people just slow down (or kayak OUT) and take a look. I searched through my blog titles for the words “Santa Cruz,” and I was once again surprised by the number of entries – I love the place that much, and it is only an hour or so away!
While the humans clustered on the water’s surface, two humpback whales lunged out of the water with their mouths open. For a moment it looks as though the whales have swallowed the surfer! I have seen a single humpback feed like this just offshore from a beach a few miles north of Santa Cruz – truly awe-inspiring!
The clip has gone viral, and the crowd has gone wild!
According to The Santa Cruz Sentinel:
“The photographer was Barb Roettger, a Santa Cruz massage therapist and ocean enthusiast. She was out with a friend in a kayak, taking pictures with a basic digital (and non-waterproof) camera.”
Roettger said the surfer is allergic to neoprene – which is why she was out in cold water without a wetsuit, a fact that has led some to question the video’s veracity.
The clip has gone viral since being posted to YouTube on Wednesday. Roettger said major networks have tracked her down, and it was shown in the NBC Nightly News on Thursday, the second night this week for Santa Cruz whale coverage. Friday, Good Morning America will feature Santa Cruz and its whales again, including photos from the Sentinel.
“Good Morning America, NBC, CBS, you name it,” she said.
Roettger found herself in the middle of a “bubble net” that the whales were using to gather sardines, to gulp them down with “lunge feeding,” even though she was trying to obey the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which requires whale watchers to maintain a buffer zone.
And believe….
-Bill at
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