This article was previously written by Rachel Messerschmidt for and published by Vancouver Family Magazine in September 2022.
“There’s a whale shark in the anchorage!” The call crackled over the VHF radio through the hot summer air.
“Whale shark! They said whale shark! Let’s go!!” The four of us scrambled to get into the dinghy and head toward the growing crowd of people on paddleboards and in dinghies. We could hear sounds of awe. This was an event we’d been waiting for! We were about to check off a huge Sea of Cortez cruising bucket list item.
Whale sharks are the world’s largest known fish species. They can grow to lengths of over 40 feet and weigh in up to 50,000 lbs. For perspective, that’s the size of a school bus! And they hold a reputation for being extremely docile and unperturbed by human visitors to their underwater space. They’re truly gentle giants.
The Sea of Cortez, our cruising ground these past few months, is the ancestral home of a large population of whale sharks that migrate up and down the Sea each year. They eat only krill and other tiny sea creatures that they filter out of the water- they pose no threat at all to humans and are a popular tourist attraction.
We’ve been hoping to see a whale shark since arriving in Mexico last winter and, despite having come close with reported sightings nearby over the past months, this was our first time actually seeing one.
As we approached the small crowd of excited cruising families, we could see the animal’s dorsal fin and tail fin occasionally breaking the surface of the water but we couldn’t see the bulk of the animal hidden below. There were snorkelers all around and our son, Evan, jumped in to try to get close enough to see the giant creature underwater.
The shark cruised through the crowd and turned to head back out toward the opening of the bay. It didn’t seem he wanted to stick around and we hadn’t really gotten much of a view yet. We collected Evan from the water and quickly made a large arching semi-circle to try to position ourselves in its path. As it came closer, we turned off the engine and drifted, hoping it would continue past.
The size of the shark, when we could finally see it clearly, was stunning. The thing was HUGE- it was easily 3 times the length of our dinghy, putting it well over 30 feet in length, and it passed directly underneath us! Evan jumped back into the water and came up with amazement in his eyes as we watched it swim away. He excitedly claimed the title of being the first Messerschmidt to get to swim with a whale shark! Little did we know, this would not be our only encounter – no, far from it.
Just as we returned to our sailboat, we heard another VHF call and saw a new crowd gathering near another whale shark closer to shore. We watched for a moment from the boat before I took our daughter, Kali, and we got onto our paddleboard to go check it out. This one was in no hurry to leave the shallow waters and swam in lazy circles gulping in mouthfuls of water packed with its dinner. Several times, we were able to get close enough to touch it, though we restrained ourselves from doing so out of respect. Being mere feet from such a massive and power sea creature was just breathtaking.
After 10-15 minutes, I paddled back to Mosaic to tell Brenden that he and Evan needed to check this one out. Evan hopped on the paddleboard and took off, while Brenden, Kali, and I transitioned back into the dinghy. Brenden and Kali even got into the water to observe the animal close-up and we hung out with it for about 45 minutes. The gasps and excited whispers from the attendant adults and children alike was just so incredible.
And, later in the evening, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, three more of the beasts were reported among the sailboats and I got my turn to get into the water and swim with them. They made close pass after close pass on our sailboat and those anchored nearby. One even came so close that it bumped our paddleboard and anchor chain as the family peered down at it from the deck of our boat.
Two days later, as we were swimming and playing at the beach, we looked out and spotted several whale sharks again visiting the anchorage. We happened to have our drone with us, and Brenden quickly launched it to get aerial footage of what turned out to be five whale sharks feeding right next to the shore. The kids and I, along with a few others from the anchored sailboats, spent an hour swimming and paddleboarding again with these sharks. What more could a cruiser ask for!? This was truly a highlight of our year.
Words just cannot describe how amazing these days were for our family. I’m so thankful for the magical moments that we get to experience by living and raising our kids on our little 40-foot sailboat in the Sea of Cortez.
Rachel Messerschmidt and her family are Clark County natives living and cruising full time aboard their 40-foot sailboat, Mosaic. They traveled down the US West Coast and have been cruising in Mexico since November of 2021. Rachel shares her family’s adventures on her blog at www.mosaicvoyage.com and on Facebook and Instagram (at)mosaicvoyage. She writes a monthly column for Vancouver Family Magazine.