Over the weekend, while fishing boats were out on the coast of White Horse Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a humpback whale surprised everyone by jumping out of the water and landing on top of one of the boats. The incident was captured on video by one of the fishing boats nearby.
The whale landed on the bow of the boat, causing it to bounce on the waves. However, the boat managed to stabilize itself and remain afloat. Thankfully, no one on board was injured, and the boat didn’t suffer any significant damage.
The incident left witnesses in awe of what they had just witnessed. “The guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said a local resident named Ryder Parkhurst. “I couldn’t believe the thing was still floating.”
CLOSE CALL: A whale struck a fishing boat off the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the whale breaching and then landing on the vessel. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Whales have frequently been spotted in the area over the past week. https://t.co/Kb0EM7fMYZ pic.twitter.com/qDT8ic8Kiy
— ABC News (@ABC) July 25, 2022
The local harbor authorities checked on the boat and its occupants, confirming that they were unharmed. It’s unclear if the whale sustained any injuries during the incident.
In response to the incident, the Plymouth Harbormaster Department has reminded boaters to keep a safe distance from whale pods to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. “This interaction, while rare, is a reminder that these interactions can be dangerous for both boaters and whales,” the department stated.
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