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"The whale just blew about 1,000 feet off my bow!" Bjoern Kils,
41, gasped as he snapped photographs of the creature he
estimated to be about 40 feet (12 meters) long.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed reports of the sighting, but said
it would get involved only if the whale became entangled or
otherwise became endangered.
"We're aware, but it's pretty normal that we get whales out
there," Petty Officer Anthony Pappaly told Reuters.
In recent years, more than a dozen humpback whales have been
detected in New York waters, according to state data, with some
as close to shore as 550 yards (500 meters) from the beach in
Rockaway, Queens.
Kils, whose New York Media Boat transports news crews and
magazine photographers, said he spotted the whale at about 10
a.m. near Ellis Island.
He immediately tried to warn other vessels to give it wide berth
in the hopes that it might swim safely through the Narrows tidal
strait separating Staten Island and Brooklyn and out into the
Atlantic Ocean. Vessels motoring toward the whale included the
Staten Island Ferry, a cargo ship and several tug boats.
"It's a bit of a silver lining with COVID that there's not much
boat traffic out here, and the whale has a very good chance of
getting out into the ocean," Kils said as he spoke by phone from
his boat.
For hours, the whale surfaced every minute or so for a breath,
making its way past New York's shoreline with sights like the
Empire State building in the background.
"As we were passing the Statue of Liberty, it flung its tail out
of the water - twice!" Kils said.
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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