141--Alaska: A Whale of a Time
@ CherieSpotting Jul 29 2003 - 08:11 PST

cherie writes: As we sailed from cove to cove, I would sit on the bow and listen to Isabelle’s mesmerizing tales about circumnavigating the globe alone. Isabelle and I were watching a humpback whale swirl around a shoal of herring which creates a “net of bubbles” that trap the fish. Then the whale splashes out of the water, its twelve foot jaws agape and gulps down his mid-day snack. While the whale “bubble fed,” Isabelle made a confession.

“I hit a whale when I was sailing alone once.”
“You hit a whale once, or you sailed around the world alone once?” I asked.
“I sailed around the world four times, I hit a whale once.” Isabelle clarified. “I worried I hurt the whale because all of a sudden the ocean became discolored.”
“What did you do?” I asked astonished.
“I looked closer and realized it wasn’t blood. She broke my rudder, but she was okay.”
“Isabelle, are you telling me you scared the shit out of a whale?”
“You could say it that way,” she said.