Kamal Ghorui
A windsurfer in San Francisco had what he later described as “a ‘whale’ of a day” after colliding mid-ride with a surfacing gray whale, an encounter captured in a now-deleted video that has since circulated widely online. The incident happened at Crissy Field, where Eric Kramer was gliding across the water when the whale suddenly breached directly in his path. With no time to react, he struck the animal and was launched off his board, tumbling into the water. Footage of the moment, originally posted by Kramer but later deleted, shows a calm Bay scene, a cargo ship moving steadily in the background, beachgoers scattered along the shoreline, before the windsurfer speeds into frame. Seconds later, the whale breaks the surface, and the collision sends him flying. The animal appears largely unfazed, disappearing beneath the water, while Kramer is left floating, shaken but seemingly unharmed. In a caption accompanying the clip, quoted by the New York Post, Kramer wrote: “It was a ‘whale’ of a day.. Please be cautious and respect wildlife, I had reduced my speed greatly bc I had seen a couple whales in the area but on my last run back it just popped up right in front of me. Glad we are both ok.” The footage, recorded on March 24, also shows the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in the distance in a separate angle shared online. The video quickly drew reactions, with some viewers questioning his decision to continue windsurfing despite spotting whales nearby. “I mean if you noticed them there, then why did you still decide to sail,” one commenter wrote, while another added: “Hmm- what happened to keeping back 300 ft from marine mammals?” Encounters like this, while rare, are not unheard of in the Bay. Gray whales migrate along the California coast each year, and sightings have become more frequent, though also concerning, with reports noting that four have already been found dead in San Francisco Bay this year.
