Bill Clements was out for a six-mile paddle off Dana Point when he saw huge dorsal fins piercing the glassy water in the distance.

As they got closer, he said he knew they were not the smaller common dolphins he encounters regularly off the Southern California coast. And they weren’t quite as big as orcas, either.

It turned out to be a pod of 40 or so Risso’s dolphins, typically found in deeper, tropical waters and a rarer sight for the region.

“It felt like I was paddling with small whales,” the Dana Point waterman said of the “surreal” close encounter Friday, Oct. 25.  “They look like whales, they don’t have the beak you normally see. What really struck me was how they glowed in the water, it was like a turquoise blue. It was like a bunch of missiles under the water. It was a really cool experience.”

It’s not the first time Clements has had an up close with large sea animals. Two years ago he got up close to a massive blue whale,  images of the encounter went viral.

“Every experience is awesome. But every once in a while, you come across something really unique and special,” he said.

Clements said he spent about an hour or so with the Risso’s dolphins out in the water, alone.

“I’ve just been reeling from the experience. It’s just so rare,” he said Monday. “To see such a rare species like that, and to see it alone. It was really phenomenal to be able to enjoy that moment alone and have them to myself for a while.”

According to NOAA Fisheries, Risso’s dolphins can dive to about 1,000 feet and hold their breath for 30 minutes. They can range in length from about 8.5 feet to 13 feet and weigh 660 pounds to 1,100 pounds.

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During  Clements’ encounter, the dolphins were kind of milling about, he said. They were about half the size of his board.

At one point, the pod of about 40 split up into two groups, then came back together, he said, with about 15 to 20 of them just feet from his board, some going under him, as he marveled from above.

“That was a moment to remember,” he said.