Killer whales buzz competitors in Norway surf comp
Killer whales put on a show of their own during a surfing competition in Norway, at the same beach Australian surfer Mick Fanning rode waves under the Northern Lights last year.
Two whales rode towards competitors during their heat at the Lofoten Masters, prompting commentators to ask: "I wonder what the judges are scoring that?"
Two competitors remained in the water while a third rode a wave a short distance to the beach, where he held his hands over his chest before raising them above his head.
The event, first held in 2007, continued and was later won by local surfer Maria Petersson and Edi Siswanto, a surf instructor from Bali.
Siswanto told Al Jazeera surfing conditions in Norway could be "as good any in Bali" and that there were "no danger of shark attacks".
"You're more likely to be watching sea eagles and seals as you wait for the wave to ride," he said.
Though seasonal, surfing conditions can be ideal in Norway and Fanning drew international headlines while riding waves under the Northern Lights at the same beach late last year.
Fanning described the waves in the region as "surprisingly good" and recalled staring at the spectacle of the flickering natural sensation while "screaming with excitement".
//ANTHONY PANCIA
© Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Comments
I'm not sure which is more astounding - the killer whales surfing through a competition or the fact that there was a Balinese surfer in a surfing competition in Norway raving about the surf.
Crazy times.
...and what sounded like a Kiwi on the beach commentary. It's globalisation, bro.
Unrelated to killer whales -
Went surfing up the coast a few days ago and eased my way into the dozen strong crowd on the peak , assuming they were all locals except for one lady that was obviously Korean.
Not one Aussie amongst them.
At a regional beachbreak.
Globalisation, bro.
There WAS a shitload of dolphins. Which are just small , oddly shaped , plainly coloured killer whales I suppose. So there's your relevance to the thread if you need one.
what made her obviously Korean , and do you mean no blackfellas out or bogans?
Maybe she wasn't a Korean. But she looked and sounded Korean.
I'm not sure what you mean by the rest . Unless you mean any Australian that isn't a full blood Aborigine is a bogan ?
Just no Australians like you or me .
everyone is a bit Korea conscious at the moment , but its the invasion of the Chinese at the moment , so just checking out your ethnic recognition app!
Just funny how locals at surf spots , have been there 50 years at most , the age of the selfie , and now is the MO .
Definitely not a kiwi accent
thanks so much for this... there's a whole series... there goes my morning's work. I'm off with the plinkton.
I'd get out of the water just in case one of the orcas needed to go to specsavers.
fun facts:
Scientists say that the orca was in attack mode but aborted last second. The surfer in red is shannon ainslie, the surfer that got attacked by 2 great whites in south africa.
always the guy in red or yellow
erikb you are on the ball. Watched the video again after reading your comment. The swirl of water adjacent to the surfer shows how close it came.
I'm unaware of any reported attacks by Killer Whales on people in the wild.
This may be as close as you'd want to come to an "encounter".
Don't think I'd be risking it just to surf a Norwegian shorey.
Those things would be massive up close.
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FB page for the Lofoten Masters states: "Norwegian Orca Survey confirming this as an actual attack on a human, where the whales changed their mind in the last second. First time ever documented on film."
Yikes.
curbs ... (Killerbite klub) has at least one surfer other than this one, I guessing maybe more.
Californian Hans Kretschmer was surfing Point Sur ' 1972 when bitten,requiring 100 stitches.
We had a pod of Killer whales (with babies) cruise past the peak in Vicco last year. They were not interested in us and just went about their business. Spectacular animals.