Anxious Atlantic rower films amazing footage of boat surrounded by a huge pod of whales

North Atlantic solo rower Tom Waddington was having a dull day. It was gray and rainy and there was little to alleviate the slog of his challenge to row from Newfoundland in Canada to Penzance in the UK (he started earlier this month).

But all that was about change. Big time. And Waddington caught it all on camera.

Because Waddington was joined by some pilot whales. Just a few at first. And initially he’s delighted by his new travelling companions.

Then more arrived. And more.

Then one of them collided with his boat. And it wasn’t fun any more…

While Waddington knew they were only being playful, he was fearful that one of them could take out his rudder… not ideal in the middle of the Atlantic.

So he tried to steer away from them. But they just followed, and brought more friends along with them.

After two hours, they were still following him. On the video, Waddington says there were “thousands” of whales by this point, which is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but there are certainly a massive number of them.

And his commentary has changed from “This is so cool!” to “I’m sh**ing myself.”

Eventually they grew tired and swam off, much to Tom’s relief, but leaving him with some spectacular footage which he passed along to the team who are handling the social media side of his charity challenge.

Learn more about Waddington’s charity North Atlantic solo rowing voyage (called Mind Oar Matter… geddit?) on his website .

• The best waterproof jackets 2024: beat the conditions with a high quality rain coat