While doing our daily 6:00am surf reports I was checking the swell around the Shark Tower at Longy and a whale surfaced just outside the break!

Conditions were smooth and clean with the odd 2' wave close to shore, and early the tide was near high.

At first the object appeared as a dark lump, like someone  on a long paddleboard leaving a bit of a wake on the smooth water surface.

At first, the whale appeared as a dark lump looking like someone on a long paddleboard

A few fin flaps confirmed the identity

The it started to submerge and then reappear. A few big fin flaps confirmed its identity, and at one point a smaller fin appeared that could have been a calf.

The whale moved slowly north then did a change of direction and started meandered back down the beach a little, then out to sea. There were no surfers out at that time.

Just past the Shark Tower a change of direction

Going back out to sea with a final salute

While you often hear of whale sightings, and apparently they were close in at South Steyne on Sunday, I've only ever personally seen a whale at South Narra where there was a mother and calf cruising along parallel to the beach and close in, just outside the break. A few days later another was cruising around near the Pipe at Collaroy.

When my mum and dad built their home at Curly in the 1950's they said you could see herds of whales moving up and down the coast at certain times of the year.

It's a great thing to see these fantastic ocean dwellers feeling comfortable again in our local waters.

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