Swimming with Wild Orcas in Norway (incredible encounters)

Sam.

Good morning from the Arctic Circle. It is our first full day on board. Last night we boarded the boat in Tromso. It looks like we're getting on our boat in the middle of the night, but it's 4:30 in the afternoon right now and as we slept last night, the brook. My face is frozen. The boat cruised to what we hope for orca feeding grounds. I cannot believe that I booked a trip where the goal is to go swimming out there. It is January in Norway. The sun barely rises above the horizon. It's not getting above freezing this entire trip. It's currently 17 degree. I'm sliding off the deck and the wind is gusting to up to 40 knots. And we're supposed to be going swimming out there. It's too rough and it's not going to be safe and comfortable. So we'll keep you posted and keep things crossed and enjoy your day.

Thank you.

I have mixed feelings. I honestly just like cannot imagine getting in that water.

Since we're going to be on board all day, we thought we'd take this time to show you around the ship. This trip is going to be much more about what happens off board than on. But it's kind of become a tradition that we give you a tour of our home.

Starting at the back.

You're ice.

This is a hot tub. It literally has icicles on it. And this is a sauna.

Oh, it's so warm. Wow. Check out this view.

Oh my gosh. I feel so good. Can we just sit in here for a second? My face is frozen.

This is very much an expedition ship with a hot tub and the sauna for our two little luxuries.

Welcome to the front. I mean the valve. Everything is covered in a layer of ice out here. These are the dinghies that will get in, that'll take us to the orcas and what we eat in the water.

I'm flying. Jennifer.

This is the most Titanic y place I've ever done. The Titanic boat.

I feel so dumb walking out here.

I'm like, honestly, being up here on the front deck makes me feel like going the deadliest catch. The only thing more brutal on a man than a couple of days crab fishing is a couple of months of crab fishing. Also, when I remove myself from the fact that we're supposed to be swimming with whales today, I'm just grateful to be on this boat and seeing these views. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my entire life.

This is the lounge where everybody hangs out.

This is the library, where, thankfully, no one's hanging out.

And welcome to the bridge.

Yeah, this is definitely the place to come to watch the views and stay warm at the same time.

Here on the lower deck, we have the dining area and the main kitchen. Both our meals on board so far have been fabulous. The rest of the lower deck is where all the rooms are, and ours is at the very back. Cabins, cabins, cabins. Welcome to the Mascarette. This is a French ship, so I think this is a French name.

It is so warm in here. I think I need to shed a layer.

Oh, just get undressed, why don't you?

I'm just gonna finish the tour of my Long John's. I'm not kidding. I'm sweating. It is much roomier than I expected. I've unpacked all my stuff in this dresser and then this closet. Packing cubes for the win. All Nate's stuff is still in a pile in his bag. Just saying. Bed is nice and cozy.

I absolutely love all of our cute brown nautical windows. We have a nice couch. Here's where we're putting all of our outdoor water gear. Last night, we had a fitting for our drysuits, and it was an experience.

Are we doing this right?

These dry suits are going to enable us to swim in this freezing arctic water without turning into an ice cube, hopefully. I feel like this bathroom is very big for a boat bathroom. But the highlight for me is definitely this heater. I think this is the warmest spot on the entire ship. Oh, one last thing. As far as the temperature control goes in the room, it's either heater on or heater off, so you just twist this thing. But our towel rack might be enough to warden home, honestly.

And that about does it for the tour. It is an expedition ship that was built in the 1970s, but I feel like they've made it as comfortable as possible for us, and it gets the job done. Ultimately, its purpose is to get us to the wells real quick.

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Wow, how beautiful is this? The weather is looking much better today. They're putting the ladder up on the side of the boat. So I think today might be the day that we get in the water. Basically the way it works is we have about five hours of daylight. It's currently 9:30, so we're going to spend the next five hours looking for whales. And if we see them we all rush down to our rooms, put on our dry suits, come back up to the top, jump in the zodiacs and if we're lucky swim with orcas. I have so many butterflies in my stomach.

I've not been this inside in so long.

See how I'm back yet? Left of K brace there was a humpback blow like 50 meters in front.

Of the Cape Race.

I think they're okay. So what exactly are you looking for?

Species wise orcas and humpbacks. But the blow is what we're going to see because it's still a bit dark. The humpback blow is a lot bigger than the orca blow so we've seen two large blows and two smaller blows. So we're going to head kind of towards shore. It's a bit shallower there which is a good place to used to have big balls. So I'm hoping that a big ball.

Are the humpbacks and the orcas normally together they can.

Yeah you can have humpbacks or is in fin whales all feeding together.

Did you see something? Another 10 o' clock I think. You see?

Yeah, yeah.

It'S there non stop.

See them?

Yeah, the tail out the boat. No, no, no, no, I mean the inquis boat. That's where the lights are.

See the fin there? See that? See it?

Oh yeah, I see it.

That's a male. Yeah, that's a big one.

Look at the hit.

Save it. Oh, there they are. There they are.

I don't know how everyone's staying so calm and quiet in there. We are seeing orcas.

So we saw them, they disappeared and now we've been on the hunt to find them again. And there is so much tension up here in the bridge. It's just been quiet and suspenseful.

Yep. It's again out just in front of you. Did it just blow? Yeah, it was. It sort of like blow and then the flick of the tail.

Yeah, I think there's one blow.

Can you see another one there or is that in my imagination? Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my goodness. There it is.

Okay, we just got word to get ready. It's happening. We're getting in the water with Wells.

Ah.

Why can't I never even have a door? What's going on?

Thank you.

We're putting on our dressing.

I'm already so hot.

Here's the fun part.

That wasn't so bad.

It's just this one tiny, thin piece of rubber that keeps water from rushing into our suits. Oh, my goodness. I've never been so hot in my life. This hood, not waterproof. Take that feeling of when you were a kid about to go out in the snow and how hot you are, and then multiply that times 10, and that's what I'm experiencing right now.

Oh, my gosh. At least times 20. 20.

Cool.

Yeah. All right, There we go.

Wish us luck.

We're doing this.

We're doing this. It's happening.

Goodbye, boat. Going to tell you. Okay, prepare to get ready and then you'll make sure that your snorkel is on, your mask, your fins, everything in tight. Put your legs.

Oh, my gosh. There is a humpback whale. Two of them.

Oh, my God.

What? This is the best day of my life. Oh, my. It's the biggest ever seen. Oh, my gosh. He's like three times the size of our T. So we're just kind of hanging out, making sure they're here to stay. Cuz once we get in the water, we'll get cold really quickly. So we only want to get in if we know it's time. Okay. So the next time we will mentally prepare to make. I'm so prepared. Mentally, physically, emotionally. Oh, no.

I cannot believe this. Any other time we've gone looking for whales. This is as good as it gets. And this is just a preview.

Even though it felt like we were so close, unfortunately we didn't see another orca from the Zodiac. And it was never the perfect opportunity to get in the water with the humpbacks. So today ended up being more like a dress rehearsal for the real thing.

It could not be more beautiful. This morning you have these little villages nestled under these huge snowy mountains. On one side of the ship, it looks like the sun's rising, and on the other side of the ship, the moon's still up. It is the perfect morning. And also the water looks like glass, which means today might be the day that we swim with. Well.

Yeah.

In front of the.

Where are they?

At one.

What?

At one. There's one at one o'.

Clock. Oh, nice group right there. Oh, my God. There's tons more.

Get ready.

Oh, my gosh.

Get ready, get ready.

How many do you think we're seeing?

I go on. Between all of it, there's over 20. Okay.

Expectations are through the roof. Yesterday there were two humpbacks and two orcas. Today we're seeing 20 orcas and a humpback. Lots of fishing vessels, which means that there are lots of fish.

It feels like if there was ever a day that it was gonna happen, it's right now.

I can't believe this is happening to me.

Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?

Because there's, like, five things we have to put on.

Oh, I forgot my whole suit. So did you. I knew we almost froze to death.

We did.

I was like, I feel like it.

Something fell off. Oh, my gosh. I can't believe we almost did that.

Now this means. Are you okay?

Yes. Would you give that back to me if I give that?

There.

Wow. That was the best experience of my life.

There is no way to put into words what we just experienced. And it's like we were on this massive adrenaline rush. Like, best moment of my entire life. And then as soon as you come down off of the adrenaline rush, you realize just how freezing cold everything is. We were out there for four hours when we saw the whales for the first time. Somebody said I could die now. And I was kind of feeling the same way. Like, there was life before swimming with whales, and now there's life after.

Orcas.

Orcas. They're dolphins. I think the first time we went in the water might have been the best. No, we felt like there were just a hundred underneath me as soon as I plucked in.

My favorite time was probably the third one I slid in the water, and two orcas are swimming at me, like, at an angle, like, from down there up towards my face. And I had this moment of panic, like, Do I get out of the way? Are they coming to eat me? And then they turned like, kind of like rolled onto their back. And then they were looking at me and then they went under me. We had a moment.

These are the apex predators of the sea, and you're just getting to swim beside them in the water.

It wasn't until we like the three and a half hour mark that finally I slid in the water. I put my head under and I heard them.

I heard their noises. They're like.

Like, what are we supposed to do with our life after this? Like, I might just have to devote my life to orga research.

You're going the wrong way.

Look at those colors. What a way to start the day.

9Am Sunrises are my favorite sunrises.

It's actually purple in real life. I think I'm moving to the Arctic. If we went home right now, this trip to the Arctic circle would be 110% worth it. But it does have the potential to get even better. So last night we put together a list of four things that, if they happened, would make this the perfect trip. The first one, and the one that I would trade all the others for, is if we had the opportunity to see a bait ball in the water. The reason that the orcas are here during the winter is because there's a huge population of herring in the water. And they'll all start hunting together, swirl them into a big ball, and then they just start picking them off one by one. And we've heard that it's possible just to sit there in the water watching this happen. Also, there are humpbacks here, love to swim with one of those. There's still talk of doing the polar plunge, and we've yet to see the northern lights, but again, I'm content. I know this is asking for a lot. I'm just saying it has the potential to get better.

Well, it's 10:30. Yesterday at this time, we were already in the water with orcas, so it's taking a bit longer to find them today. But if I change my mindset to we're just on a cruise to view the beautiful Norwegian fjords, then it's still a really great day.

Good morning. I cannot believe that today is already the last day of the trip. It feels like just yesterday the waves and the weather were too crazy for us to even get in the water. And now today is our last chance to swim with orcas again. Unfortunately, yesterday we were not successful getting in the water, but we were greeted by some very friendly humpback. Whales that were just repeatedly reaching. I've never seen anything like it before. It was pretty incredible and special. What?

I have never seen anything like this before. It's like they're just playing a pretty short. It's a baby still. Probably the size of like a minivan, but it's a baby.

And then yesterday afternoon we pulled into harbor and we set foot on land for the first time in four days. Spent a little bit of time walking around this sleepy little fishing village and then we hiked to the edge of town in hopes of finding the northern lights. It ended up just being a really dark hike.

Hopefully there are no predators in our way.

Yesterday was not our lucky day, but hopefully we've stored up all of our luck for today and the last day will be the best day of the entire trip.

We're going to.

We're just coming to realize more and more how lucky we got on that third day. There is a very thick cloud cover this morning to the point where it's so dark, I'm not sure that even if we find the whales, we're going to be able to get in the water with it. Because you think it's dark up here now. As soon as you get in that water, it gets really dark and a little scary. But towards the end of the day, on day three, it was getting dark and all of a sudden you wouldn't see anything. And then one would just be like right in front of your face.

20Ft long.

And as nice as they are, and data supports that they have never attacked a human in the wild. It's still a little terrifying to be face to face with a 30 foot apex predator.

Yeah. The last two days have just made day three feel like a big green.

We've still got four more hours a daylight, though. You never know what could happen. That.

Oh, my gosh. They. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

Oh, they got a baby.

There's a baby.

In between. Two males babysitting. Yeah.

Goodbye, ship. Hello, orcas.

Here they are. Hi, guys. It's so good to see you. I've missed you. There are no words to describe this feeling when I know I'm about to lower myself into the ocean with 20 apex predators. Mobs and fish babies, dads and aunts and uncles and cousins.

They're all behind us. All right, we're in position. Oh, my gosh.

Here we go. Here we go.

Oh, I can't believe we're doing this.

Oh, they're so pretty. I love them so much. Look at them. Oh. Oh, it's so Beautiful.

We're back. That was amazing. And they decided that now would be the perfect time to end this trip with the polar plunge. I cannot feel my feet or my hands.

I will say my hands have not been as cold as they were that first day when I was crying in the bed.

I think you're delirious. Here we go again.

We gotta quit coming on these cold trips where this isn't expectation how you feel.

I'm feeling cold, but the vibe is good, so I'm happy. We have music playing. Everybody's in good spirits.

For context, we literally got out of the boat five minutes ago. We're also completely frozen for being out on the water for three hours.

My hair is already wet.

But these are our last moments of daylight. So we're ending the trip with a polar plunge. The humpback's coming to do the polar plunge.

Yeah.

It'S literally coming straight from the boat. This is amazing.

There we go.

Okay. Oh, my gosh.

I already can't feel my feet.

And then I have to stand here and film you.

Yeah, that's how it works.

Here we go. There we go.

All right. Polar plunge in the Arctic Circle.

Ten seconds. Ten seconds.

Ten seconds. Five, six. Oh, you're a slow counter. Seven and a half. Nine. Nice work.

Ten.

Oh, my gosh. That was crazy. That's the longest I've ever been in the water.

Come on, Nate.

Okay.

Oh, God.

All right.

Solid glove.

Stay in there, Stay in there.

Okay.

I can't hold the body.

I did it.

Way to go, Nate.

That was too long.

Too long.

That was too long.

Oh, my God. Cheers.

Cheers. This is well deserved.

Thank you so much. What an amazing way to end the trip. Literally. I was in the water with humpbacks, so I basically marked two of the things off our list for the perfect trip in one jump. The only thing we missed was the bait ball. We're coming back next year.

Woo. Thank you. Thank you so much to Waterproof Expeditions for having us. If you want to go on this insane adventure too, their link is in the description. We truly had the trip of a lifetime and we'd recommend this experience to anyone. We'll also link information about orca research and conservation. We've fallen in love with these beautiful animals and hope you will too. Thanks for watching. Okay, GoPro, you better work today. If you. If you don't, I'm throwing you in the ocean.

For the orcas to eat. Okay, work. I need your audio. Work.

Tell him I like that. I came into the room and you were already doing this by yourself? It wasn't a show for me.

I'm testing if it turns off. Every time I brought this GoPro out into the cold, it's just stopped recording and turned itself off. GoPros are supposed to work when you're doing cool stuff. And ours I always break. I'm gonna take you upstairs, let you know what you're in for today.

And you better work. Okay. GoPro. Now we're outside. And, yeah, it's a little cold. What are you gonna do about it, huh?

You gonna turn off again, Creeper standing over in the corner. Hold on.

Okay.

Sorry.

Oh. What's wrong with me?

Are you okay?

Are your hands not hurting?

They're cold, but they don't hurt.

Oh, they hurt so bad, it feels like they just got run over by a truck.

Oh, wow. I didn't even get in the water.

I still can't tell how serious you're being.

I'm really serious.

What, you're laughing, too?

Cause I know how stupid I look.

I think you're delirious.

I don't know what to do. There. So bad.

I will say, minus my toes, I. That stayed surprisingly warm out there.

Okay, then you have to do this weird squat. You open your neck, you squat down, your buddy hugs you really hard and pushes all of the air out of your suit so that you don't float. Like a bomber.

No question. It's like I feel my blood coursing through my veins. Best day ever. Over.

You see, there's orcas there.

Look at us.

Oh, my gosh. Up there's the orca. My finger was so frozen, I accidentally stopped recording.