Whale jumps on sailing yacht

Posted on Jul 22, 2010 in travel | 1 comment

A couple on holiday sailing off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, got the fright of their lives. A 10 meters (33ft) whale, a southern right whale, jumped on their sail boat and missed the couple barely.

The southern right whale, a species known for poor eyesight, snapped the mast before sliding back into the water, said Paloma Werner.

She and her partner had just seconds to take cover, she said. A nearby tourist caught the moment on camera.

“I still like whales,” Ms Werner told the BBC afterwards.

The southern right whale navigates by sound, leading Ms Werner to suspect it was an accident.

“Our boat’s engine was off and so the whale just didn’t know we were there,” she said. “We were just the wrong boat, in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

More at The Dutch Daily News

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  • http://www.sailing-jworld.com San Francisco Sailing School

    The images and video footage of this event are absolutely incredible!

    Not sure if this was an accident, but whales have been known to occasionally become aggressive towards boats… in fact, we had a 12 meter boat sunk by whales off the coast of Mexico in October of 2009. Whether it was an accidental collision or an act of aggression we will never know. An emergency beacon (EPIRB) and liferaft were instrumental in the safe rescue of the crew. I would never recommend venturing offshore without these two items! And a hearty thank you to all the Coast Guard members who come to the aid of sailors in distress!

    A boat was recently sunk by whales in Australia, and back a couple of years ago another off Hawaii (when it accidentally got between a mother and her calf). Whale incidents (whether boats colliding with whales or the inverse) seem to be on the increase, so we all need to maintain an increased lookout for our friends aquatic!

    By the way, there is a great firsthand account of our incident written by the skipper on our blog… very compelling read with great lessons learned.