Is this real?

   Tuesday afternoon my wife and I were having lunch on the wharf.    We watched a large group of whales playing for over an hour off the point.   Flat calm that day.

 The Santa Cruz Sentinel printed it in this morning's paper, so as far as I'm concerned, it's absolutely a real photo.  I believe everything printed in my local paper, including every angler report included in the Fish Rap column.

  Seriously, wouldn't it matter to the perspective ( and therefore to the conclusions drawn about sizes and distances) what kind of lens was used and how close the photographer was to the scene?   

I actually talked with "Tarzan" when he first got his P13 kayak a few years ago and pre-speedo (not just a speedo, but a baggy, faded speedo!).  About all I can recall is that he said he'd hurt his back in an construction(?) accident and thought the kayak might help - maybe that's why he stands up these days.  He drives a well-used jacked-up camoflage-green colored pickup.   A few months later, in the fall, I saw him at the ramp, and he said he was going out a ways to "see the whales".   
   
     

Yep, I independently confirmed the photo through my harbor connections. I guess they were putting quite the show yesterday.

That "tarzan" guy is a trip. I see his truck all over the westside, and run into him at the ramp if I paddle in the evening.

  I've talked to that guy quite a few times . I recognize the hat. It must be karma that he was lucky enough to experience that. He really loves nature. He does yoga on the beach at sunset.

   Check out today' capitola boat and bait report.


                           http://capitolaboatandbait.com/fishing-report   

The Santa Cruz Sentinel printed it in this morning's paper, so as far as I'm concerned, it's absolutely a real photo.  I believe everything printed in my local paper, including every angler report included in the Fish Rap column.
     

ToucheŽ

it doesn't look to scale. 6 foot person/10ft yak looks like 5 lengths to match just the head. That would put the head alone at 30-40+ feet. Don't HB wales get to be about 50 ft....seems off to me

Errr ... take a look at the pic again.  It's actually 2 whales with their mouths shut.  When I first looked at it, it looked like one huge whale with its mouth open.

-Allen

yeah I saw two whales all along. It just seems so out of scale....and do they actually breach like that around here? I've seen them cruising along but never leaping out of the water like that. Is that maneuver even possible in water that shallow? They look to be near vertical ...I mean you have to go out way over a mile to clear 60 feet. Seems a bit far for dude in a 8 foot yak

Eric, you started with scale of a ten foot kayak, now an 8 foot yak? Please don't try and use parts of my anatomy to scale other items in the photographs! Biggest damn duck I ever did see, right there in his hands, look at the size of the belt buckle! good lord, that thing is a teridactile! jk bro

Eric, you started with scale of a ten foot kayak, now an 8 foot yak? Please don't try and use parts of my anatomy to scale other items in the photographs! Biggest damn duck I ever did see, right there in his hands, look at the size of the belt buckle! good lord, that thing is a teridactile! jk bro

sorry I measured from the balls the first time and the base the 2nd time. I will use my hawg trough next time. good catch!

Must be real ... he's paddling an Ocean Kayak

Sent from my HTC Aria

yeah I saw two whales all along. It just seems so out of scale....and do they actually breach like that around here? I've seen them cruising along but never leaping out of the water like that. Is that maneuver even possible in water that shallow? They look to be near vertical ...I mean you have to go out way over a mile to clear 60 feet. Seems a bit far for dude in a 8 foot yak

Oh they do breach like that around here.  I once was riding back from Ano and saw a bunch of them doing that on the shelf strung out from Ano all the way back to Davenport.  That's a lot of whales breaching in that area, it was almost surreal.

-Allen

yeah that would be cool. I have only had them roll near me....man they do have some bad breath!

Scale is off and positioning of birds looks funny

NBC News (Brian Williams) just showed the pic and said they verified the authenticity. Not that I would bet the farm, I'm just saying.

NBC News (Brian Williams) just showed the pic and said they verified the authenticity. Not that I would bet the farm, I'm just saying.

  You heard it first here on NCKA !      Pretty cool, eh?