In 1992, I was working with the Florida Marine Patrol. That agency has since been renamed. But at that time, Marine Patrol Officers were State Troopers on the water. We were responsible for patrolling certain portions of state rivers and state waters offshore (3 miles on the Atlantic side and 9 miles on the Gulf side; we also had Federal jurisdiction up to 200 miles offshore).
One of the responsibilities we had was the protection of marine life. One day in February I received a call of a pod of Pilot Whales that had beached themselves on an uninhabited island called Bird island. The island is literally a sand spit of land in Nassau sound south of Amelia island, Florida.
It was a very cold windy day. I had an auxiliary officer with me. I beached my patrol boat on the island. I and the other Officer walked a short ways west toward the ocean side and located about 30 dead pilot whales. Then I noticed that one of the whales was still alive trying to beach itself.
When we come across live animals it is our responsibility to try and keep them alive until State Marine Biologist arrive to take them away and care for them. So, we took off our gun belts, waded into the ocean, each taking a side of the whale, keeping it in the water, preventing it from beaching itself.
The water was extremely cold. The whale was a baby about 5-6’ long. But it was crazy strong. It was all we could do to keep it in the water. So here we are a cold, windy, overcast day in February in the Atlantic Ocean with a wild pilot whale trying to keep it from beaching itself. I do not remember how long were in the water, but it seemed like forever.
Finally, the Biologist’s arrived and took custody of the whale. We got back in the boat and headed for the ramp, a ride of about 45 minutes to an hour. The boat was a 21’ Mako center console with no cabin. Needless to say, we were cold….
When we arrived at the boat ramp, I was literally shaking almost uncontrollably. I remember getting in my Patrol car, cranking the heat on high and driving home a trip of about 45 mins. The entire time I cannot stop shaking. When I get home, I’m shaking. I get in bed with my wife, I’m shaking. The last thing I remember was falling asleep still shaking like a leaf.
I was hypothermic. Low and behold I caught pneumonia.
But hanging out in the Atlantic Ocean with a wild pilot whale is something I will never forget.
I do not know what became of the whale. But I do know they either release them back in the Ocean or take them to a state Aquarium.
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