A woman kayaking in the middle of a California bay has
captured the moment a massive whale unexpectedly jumped out of the water just
metres away from her daughter.

Rhonda Burmeister was out paddling with
her daughter at Port San Luis on the weekend when a swarm of seagulls started
diving into a nearby patch of water.

Moments later a humpback whale
jumped out of the water right beside them.

While she admits the up close
encounter could have ended badly, Ms Burmeister said it was one of the best
experiences of her life, television station KSBY reports.

A nearby couple
weren't so lucky, according to Ms Burmeister, who said they were knocked out of
the kayak by the whale.

The recent encounter is one of many in the Port
San Luis area, which is why the harbour patrol are on high alert.

"We
have a couple different boats that get out on the water and we make sure people
aren't pursuing the animal," Harbour Patrol Officer Chris Weddle
said.

"Within the past week, we've actually had a couple of incidents
where people have been knocked off of their kayaks, so we're just out there
trying to keep people safe."

Australian regulations forbid coming within
100m of whales.