Kite surfer dodges whale near Golden Gate Bridge

A kite surfer was photographed barely dodging a humpback whale just west of the Golden Gate Bridge. A kite surfer was photographed barely dodging a humpback whale just west of the Golden Gate Bridge. Photo: Jennifer Hendershot/San Francisco Whale Tours Photo: Jennifer Hendershot/San Francisco Whale Tours Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close Kite surfer dodges whale near Golden Gate Bridge 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

Kite surfing is a thrilling sport, as is. But throw in some 50-foot long cetacean obstacles and now we're really talking.

A kite surfer flying over the waves just west of the Golden Gate Bridge Saturday just barely dodged a humpback whale that popped up to the surface.

The expression on her face says it all.

A boat with San Francisco Whale Tours was nearby and caught the moment on camera. "It was quite windy that afternoon so there were lots of wind surfers and kite boarders out," said Michael Pierson, a spokesperson for the whale watching company. "It's not uncommon for the kite boarders to circle around the boat as they seem to like to show off for the cameras.

"This leads to a regular occurrence of close calls because we're where the animals are and the boarders are usually more focused on what they're doing than where the whales are active."

Last year, a video of another kite boarder crashing into a humpback whale near Crissy Field went viral. Close encounters like these between kite boarders and wind surfers aren't a serious concern for environmentalists, but collisions between boats and whales are often deadly for the marine mammals.

In just the past month, three whales have washed up on Bay Area shores. A collision with a ship was determined to be the cause of death in at least one of the cases.

The California coast is regulated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits feeding or harassing marine mammals.

What constitutes harassment can be hard to define, but according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website, it means "any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance that has the potential to injure a marine mammal" or something that causes "disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering."

"People getting close to marine animals is not good for the animals and it's against federal law," NOAA spokesperson Jim Milbury told SFGATE in 2017. "But more importantly, or as importantly, people can get hurt."

The penalty for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act could include a fine of up to $11,000, up to one year in prison and forfeiture of the vessel involved. NOAA's law enforcement branch considers whether the act was intentional, unintentional or negligent when determining the punishment.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.