...
But it makes me have to ask a question that has been right on the tip of my asking for about twenty-five years, and just now came in full. HOW does orca go that fast?
They're not flapping any fins and flukes. You can see them traveling underwater as fast as just about any boat and faster by far than most ships, but they're just sliding through the medium. Tra-lah. Nothing flapping or even squirming. No sweat.
I've seen them with my own two eyeballs traveling at speed, starboard between me on a BC Ferry and the shore, doing this marvelous balletic wavy and scoopy up in the air and down in the water arcing and dipping — so sublime you can't call it swimming and you can't call it flying — not really — and they were passing us like we weren't full steam for Prince Rupert... like we were adrift. BC Ferries top out around 25mph and killer whales around 40mph. So if we were at top speed they were too.
I almost lost consciousness it was so beautiful.
There was NO effort in their movement, their speed, their heartstopping grace.
I know some of you are going to go all crazy with maths and hydrodynamics to figure this out, but... nah-ah. Go deeper. There's no spoon.
always and any time....
