For kiteboarder David Sheridan, the proof of his amazing brush with a southern right whale is there for the world to see, as this amazing photograph shows.

http://www.surfcontestinfo.com

Skimming across the whitecaps 100m from shore, the North Coast school teacher passes within centimetres of the giant mammal, oblivious to the shadow beneath.

But just moments after this close encounter was captured by his sail-mounted camera, the whale flicked its tail and lashed him in the back of the head.

“It all happened so fast that all I could do was crouch down as the whale swam under me,” Mr Sheridan, 42, said yesterday.

“Next thing I felt was its tail come up and hit me on the back of the head.

“I thought I was gone, but the force eased off and I sailed away with shaking legs.”

Mr Sheridan was kiteboarding with two friends off Valla Beach, near Nambucca Heads, when the encounter occurred on October 26. The shots were snapped by a camera mounted on the kite 25m above the water, with frames taken every 10 seconds.

“I just set it up and attach it to my kite and just fire off as soon as I go,” he said.

“It was just fortunate the whale came up under me and took a bend. It would have been nice to get it a second later when the tail came up and hit me in the back of the head, but you take what you get.”

The whale appeared content to shoo him away, rather than lash out with any aggression.

“It was more of a push than a punch. I expected more,” Mr Sheridan said.

National Parks and Wildlife Services spokesman Jeff Ross said the reaction was typical of southern rights, which were more unpredictable than humpbacks.

The whale may have had a calf it was protecting or was simply just reacting to the movement on the surface.

“It would have seen his presence overhead as a threat or it might have just been giving him a warning,” he said.

“It would be a natural response for a whale to lash out with its flukes.

Mr Ross said the incident underlined the importance of whale restriction zones, which prohibit boats and watercraft coming within 100m of an adult and 300m from a calf.

“He's very lucky. He's still here to tell the story,” he said.

“People have been killed by coming into contact with those flukes or at the very least have ended up with broken arms and legs.

“It's like being hit with a boat at full speed.”

More Surfing News