The video online, filmed by Colin Yager, shows a humpback whale breach and land on a fisherman boat.
Credit: Shutterstock
A whale has breached near the Portsmouth Harbor crashing into a boat causing it to capsize and catapult multiple people into the water.
Two brothers catch the moment
The incident occurred on Tuesday, July 23, off the coast of New Hampshire, on the northeast coast of the US.
A video was taken by two brothers on a nearby ship showing footage of the petrifying ordeal, showing the moment the whale breached the surface and slammed down onto the fishing boat.
Near the New Hampshire coast brothers Colin and Wyatt Yager said they were fishing roughly half a mile off the coast off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire when the whale first appeared.
Colin, the 1 brothers, took out his phone to film the whale excited by the sighting.
Colin told ABC affiliate that, “I had my fishing rod right here, phone in my hand, and just saw it go up, and was just lucky enough to be facing the right direction”.
Wyatt, Colin’s brother, added that as the whale came up he realised, “‘Oh no, it’s going to hit the boat!’ and then it started to flip”.
The whale slams the boat
Both brothers, unable to do anything, watched as the whale emerged and crashed on top of the nearby fishing boat, sending two of its passengers into the water.
The Yagers then sprung into action, jumping into the water to rescue the two who went overboard after their boat capsized.
According to reports, at least one of the two fishermen launched into the water was wearing a lifejacket, however, neither of them had enough time to realise what was about to happen.
From the fishermen’s point of view
“When I turned, the whale’s head was already landing on the engine”, said Greg Paquette, one of the fishermen on the boat.
“So when I saw that, then all of a sudden, I look down, the boat was pitching up, the transom is going down into the water”. The transom is the flat, vertical structure at the back of the boat.
Ryland Kenney, the other fisherman on board with Greg, described the experience as “surreal”, adding that “Everything seemed like in slow motion. It was really weird” He said.
No one injured after ordeal
Thankfully, neither of the two fishermen were hurt by the ordeal. Both of them expressed there gratitude to the Yager brothers.
“They were making the video, dropped everything, zoomed right over, and plucked us out”, said Paquette, with Kennedy adding that “It’s kind of a miracle that I’m alive.
Paquette and Kennedy were brought to the Great Bay Marina following the crash, and despite the whale’s crash, their 23-foot centre console boat was salvaged by the US Coast Guard.
Humpback whale okay
The US Coast Guard also confirmed the whale did not appear to be injured as a result of the incident.
The whale in the video has been identified as a humpback whale, by the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation.
Humpback whales are generally known for being gentle and peaceful, and notoriously curious, often getting close to vessels at sea.
However, like any wild animal, they can become unpredictable if they feel stressed, threatened or endangered.
