Rich German was paddleboarding off the coast of Laguna Beach, California, when he received an extraordinary but welcome visit. A pod of five killer whales swam right up, surfaced close by his board, and played the lead roles in this breathtaking nature video.
At one point, the whales even swim directly under his board. If these were sharks, it might have been a more harrowing tale. But the friendly killer whales were only interested in saying hello. Luckily, German was equipped with his trusty waterproof GoPro camera, ready to capture the excitement.
You’ll also notice whale-watching boats in the background, which also tend to attract orca attention with the sound of their engines. German was understandably thrilled, at his up-close-and-personal encounter, which definitely comes across in his video description:
“My dream of seeing Orcas (aka killer whales) recently came true. Watch as a friendly pod of five orcas interacts with me on my paddle board. This was filmed with my GoPro off the coast of Laguna Beach California last week. You’ll see the whales come directly under my board twice. This was an amazing, magical afternoon.”
We’re always glad to see nature up close, but remember to be safe out there in the open water, even when surrounded by friends.