A pair of kayakers shared video of their close encounter with a whale at Vancouver's English Bay. The kayakers John Olynyck and Wade Peeler intended to keep their distance from the whale and were surprised when it decided to approach him. Screen capture/Johnny O/YouTube

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 14 (UPI) -- A pair of kayakers in Canada managed to capture an up close encounter with a large whale in a local bay.

John Olynyck shared video of the encounter at Vancouver's English Bay, as the whale's tail can be seen sticking out of the water as it swam under the two men's boats.


He and his friend Wade Peeler had seen the whale earlier in the week and were surprised when it reappeared just as Peeler was deleting videos from his phone to clear space for more footage.

"My heart started racing when I saw small fish swimming to the surface in a frenzy, I knew it must be close," Olynyck said. "This was the most amazing wildlife experience of my life, a true bucket-list moment."

Peeler told the CBC that they had previously kept their distance and were shocked that the whale decided to approach them.

"I was sitting still. I had no intention of getting that close," he said.

Olynyck echoed the sentiment and said they tried to stay about 300 feet away from the whale, but were not sure when or where it would pop up.

"We were lucky and I wouldn't condone the idea of paddling up to a whale, that's for sure," he said.