Posted on 07/25/2022 12:18:08 PM PDT by Red Badger
A breaching whale landed on the bow of a fishing boat off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday in a dramatic moment caught on camera. No one was injured and the boat was not seriously damaged, town officials said.
CBS Boston reports the incident happened around 10 a.m. a few hundred yards off of Manomet Point in Plymouth, where whales have been spotted in the area feeding. Last week, a photographer captured an image of a whale surfacing not far from a paddleboarder.
Because the whales have been in the area, a Plymouth Harbormaster boat was monitoring the waters this weekend as a precaution.
"This is definitely both a sense of excitement and concern," said Regina Asmutis-Silvia of North American Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
A man on the shore captured photographs as the whale, which appeared to be a humpback, breached and landed on the boat's bow, briefly submerging the front of the vessel, before sliding back into the water. The boat did not capsize.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Town of Plymouth said the occupants of the 19-foot boat "reported no injuries and no major damage that affected the seaworthiness of the vessel," it said.
Harbormaster Chad Hunter said the fishermen headed back to the boat ramp and left the area.
Asmutis-Silvia said the whale's actions weren't intentional. "They're not going to pay attention to what's going on around them. So they're not looking around for kayakers or paddleboarders or even boaters. They're just kind of focusing on food," she said.
Hunter said that while there have been concerns about boaters getting too close to the whales in recent weeks, it appears everyone, in this case, was "doing the right thing" and simply fishing when the whale breached.
Brooke Perry, a photographer from Ohio, scurried down to the Plymouth coastline when she learned the whales were close.
"Really nice for tourists to be able to see them up close because a lot of time you can't," she said.
But Asmutis-Silvia cautioned that the size of even a small whale would be potential dangerous to boaters.
"Even a small humpback whale, you're still talking about something that's probably 50 to 60 thousand pounds," said Asmutis-Silvia.
Massachusetts Environmental Police are investigating.
"This interaction, while rare, is a reminder that these interactions can be dangerous for both boaters and whales," the town said on Facebook.
What we need is a bigger boat.
Teddy’s back???
Seeing all those boats reminds me of the scene in Jaws where all the boats were knocking in to each other in search of the shark.
Ping
“Harbormaster Chad Hunter said the fishermen headed back to the boat ramp and left the area”
Gee ya think?.....guess some yankees aren’t as dumb as I thought.
“the whale’s actions weren’t intentional.”
Sure they weren’t.
I saw the movie Orca and read Moby Dick. The Orca bit off Bo Derek’s leg because Richard Harris killed its baby.
We all know what happened in Moby Dick. Call me Ishmael
Thar she blows!
“Is anyone here a marine biologist “?
“They’re not going to pay attention to what’s going on around them. So they’re not looking around for kayakers or paddleboarders or even boaters. They’re just kind of focusing on food,” she said.
—
There’s a wild video of a whale accidentally scooping up two kayakers as it breaches to feed. They both survived because the whale spit them out, I guess realizing “hey, there’s humans in my krill!”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgwGUNnf2Rc
I was studying to be a marine biologist but I wound up being a Marine instead..................
The killer whale got a chance to munchdown on Bo Derek? And only bit her leg?
Dumb whale.
(What would laz have bit on?)
Jonahs
If the water is not fully clear a whale may mistake the outline of a boat for a school of Bunker or other baitfish.
WOW!
I’ve been windsurfing and had humpbacks breach next to me, and also had them surface right in front of me while skimming across Ma’alaea Bay at about 30mph. Nothing I could do except crash into the water. Then I’m in the water right next to a cow, calf, and yearling. They are huge to say the least.
The main thing I was worrying about was DLNR watching up on the cliff - a very big fine for getting too close.
Ma’alaea Bay, Maui, Hawai’i is a humpback sanctuary.
it didn’t look like they both survived and the voice on the camera just repeating over and over... oh shiiiiit, oh shiiiiit.
My Titleist
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