In Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, shocking video captured the moment a giant humpback whale burst onto a 19-foot motor boat, smashing the skylight in the bow and left the boat bobbing aimlessly in the sea.
Over the weekend, three humpback whales attracted dozens of boaters to the waters near White Horse Beach in Plymouth to see them feed on bait fish called pogies that school in the harbour. Humpback whales may grow up to 66,000 pounds in weight and an average length of 49 to 52 feet.
On Sunday about 10 a.m., the whales were “surge feeding,” which is when they swim under their food and scoop them up as they rise out of the water. Whales eat by opening their enormous mouths and scooping up as many fish as they can.
‘It was insane,’ Ryder Parkhurst, who saw the collision, told NBC Boston. ‘The guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all. Pops up, bang! Right on the bow of the guy’s boat.’
‘I just saw the boat go freaking flying, it was crazy,’ Parkhurst told the station. ‘It was nuts. I couldn’t believe the thing was still floating.’
The boat was able to safely navigate back to the boat ramp and sustained only minor damage.
‘It was just shocking,’ said Justin Enggasser, whose son shot the footage from a kayak about 100 feet away. ‘There was a lot of relief to see the boat pop back up because the bow really did submerge.’
Aside from being shaken up, none of the passengers of the vessel were hurt.
‘If someone was on the bow of that boat, this really could have been a tragic story,’ Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter told CBS News Boston.
The Massachusetts Environmental Police are conducting an investigation since it is prohibited to pursue or harass whales in accordance with the Marine Mammals Act. Hunter has given them the video and all other data he gathered at the spot.
We advise boaters to be cautious if they detect a spout, he told CBS.
Hunter warned boaters in a press release that the whales might also suffer harm.
‘This interaction, while rare, is a reminder that these interactions can be dangerous for both boaters and whales,’ Hunter said.
The encounters might not be as uncommon as he claims.
Paddle boarder Bob Babcock caught another close call between a motorboat and a whale a few days before to the boat-busting breech.
The footage shows the water beside a fishing boat start to boil with rising fish as he paddles out at dawn, and then a whale’s back appears, lifting the ship slightly as both men reach for the gunwales to brace themselves.
‘Feeding whales are often distracted whales making it more important for boaters to be watching for them as the whales are very focused on fish at that point, not boats,’ Regina Asmutis-Silva, the head of conservation group Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said.