A sailor who is attempting to complete a solo voyage of the Arctic Ocean has shared footage of some surprise guests that joined him on his journey: a group of pilot whales.
Matt Rutherford, founder of the Ocean Research Project, was one week into his 10,000-mile expedition when he saw the pod. He’s attempting to become the first person in the world to complete a solo, unassisted circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean without stopping.
In the video, Rutherford sails through the grey fog before spinning the camera around to show the inquisitive animals beside his vessel.
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“Over the last 20 years of sailing in the ocean have seen a wide variety of whales,” says Rutherford. “But there are no whales that are more curious than pilot whales.”
The pilot whales – which are actually a type of dolphin – swim calmly alongside his boat, their fins carving through the water as they come up for air.
They can also be incredibly playful, he says: “Pilot whales will follow behind you for hours playing in your wake like dolphins. When you go inside the boat you can hear them talking to each other through your hull.”
Pilot whales can usually be seen in the waters around southern and western Greenland, he says: “When you get to northern Greenland the pilot whales go away and you start seeing narwhal.”
Since this sighting, he has continued his voyage while sharing regular updates on Instagram and has now been travelling alone for more than 40 days. He’s doing this to raise awareness of the rapid loss of ice in the Arctic region.
"The fact that I can attempt this voyage at all is because there is less ice," he says in a press release. "And there is less ice because the planet is warmer. The Arctic is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth."
Video and image credit: Matt Rutherford, Ocean Research Project
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