Eric Kramer was knocked off his board when a gray whale surfaced directly in his path.

PublishedApril 1, 2026 6:00 PM EDT•UpdatedApril 1, 2026 6:00 PM EDT

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A routine day on the water turned surreal for an unsuspecting windsurfer who collided with a gray whale on the San Francisco Bay last week.

The footage shows the moment the surfer was forcefully thrown from his board as a gray whale breached just off Crissy Field Beach, plunging him into the water. 

The man, later identified as Eric Kramer, had been sailing when the whale surfaced in his path. With no time to react, Kramer collided with the whale and went flying off his board. He was not injured. 

The whale also appeared unharmed and maybe didn’t even notice the human bouncing off its back.

“It was a ‘whale’ of a day,” Kramer wrote on social media afterward. “Please be cautious and respect wildlife, I had reduced my speed greatly bc I had seen a couple whales in the area but on my last run back it just popped up right in front of me. Glad we are both ok.”

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Gray whales have been spotted in the San Francisco Bay since January, which is earlier than usual this year. The massive animals are migrating north from Baja California in Mexico to their feeding grounds in the Arctic.

This particular batch of gray whales are well known for their curious behavior toward boats, which often puts them in danger.

Federal regulations require people to maintain a distance of at least 100 yards from whales. But when one pops up right underneath you, there’s not much you can do.

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