Large school of whales follows man rowing across Atlantic ocean

By Ottilie Von Henning via SWNS

A large school of whales surrounded and followed a man rowing across the Atlantic for TWO HOURS.

Tom Waddington, 40, set off on his 2,000-mile trip from Canada to England to raise money for the mental health charity Mind.

But just two days into his journey, a school of pilot whales approached him and began surrounding his boat.

After enjoying the initial moments, Tom soon became worried that the whales would end up accidentally damaging his boat, especially the rudder.

After two long hours and a terrifying moment where a whale hit his boat, the school eventually lost interest and left him to continue his journey.

Tom, a ski instructor from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said: "There was a moment where the whale smashed into the boat.

"I heard a huge thud and felt the boat rock, which you can see in the video.

"It was at this moment that I suddenly started to panic and worried they would break my rudder.

"If the rudder broke my trip would be over. I couldn't let that happen."

Tom began his journey from St. John's, Newfoundland in Canada on July 5.

As he was rowing past the coast of Grand Banks, Newfoundland, an area known for its richness in sea wildlife, a large school of whales began to surround him.

Tom continued rowing and tried to get away from the whales for two hours but unable to lose them, he phoned his coach for advice.

Tom said: "It turned out I'd been doing it all wrong by moving and trying to get away because it just made the whales more curious.

"I was told to stay still and silent, which I did, and then the whales slowly lost interest.

"One of the bigger whales reared its head and made a loud call after which they all began to move on and I got to continue my trip in peace."

Overall, Tom found the experience thrilling and feels it was very much a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

He said: "It was an amazing experience.

"I couldn't believe it was happening to me.

"There were just so many of them I couldn't even count.

"I could see the baby whales as well as they swan underneath my boat - at least five or six little ones."

Tom returned to the UK via the Isles of Scilly on August 19 having raised over $80,000.

He spent his first week home relaxing and recovering from the journey.

He said: "It's been so nice being home and having creature comforts back.

"I don't think I'd ever do that trip again but I'm still proud of myself for what I've achieved.

"I wanted to raise awareness and funds for Mind because counseling was such a great help to me after my partner passed in a car accident back in 2020.

"I wasn't sure I'd reach the $60,000 mark I'd set myself, so to soar past that and make $81,000 is just amazing."