A whale caused quite a scare when it flipped a 23-foot boat off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when two men were bait fishing near Gunboat Shoals. Without warning, a breaching whale slammed into their boat, leading to its capsizing and the men being thrown into the water. Luckily, no injuries were reported.
Greg Paquette, one of the boaters, described the harrowing experience. He explained that the whale came up and landed on their boat’s transom, causing it to lift up in the air and then flip over. Paquette’s fellow boater, Ryland Kenney, managed to jump out of the boat before it fully flipped over, while Paquette found himself underneath the front of the vessel. However, he was able to crawl out from underneath and escape. Both men credited their lifejackets for helping them stay afloat.
According to Kenney, the encounter with the whale happened within a matter of seconds. He recounted being just three feet away from the whale’s head as it breached and opened its mouth, ultimately crunching the boat’s engine.
The whale responsible for the incident is believed to be a humpback weighing approximately 40 tons. Experts speculate that it was likely feeding on the abundant bait fish in the area at the time. The Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation suggested that the fishermen may have been aware of the presence of whales and were fishing in hopes of catching the same fish that the whales were after.
Fortunately, help arrived swiftly in the form of Wyatt Yager and his younger brother Colin, who were fishing on another boat nearby. They quickly came to the aid of Paquette and Kenney, helping them out of the water and onto their boat. The two men were then taken to Great Bay Marine with no reported injuries.
The Coast Guard confirmed that the whale appeared uninjured after the incident. Dianna Schulte, from the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, expressed surprise at the whale intentionally hitting the boat. She suggested that the whale was likely just feeding and may not have been aware of the boat’s presence. Pete Reynolds, owner of Granite State Whale Watch, advised boaters to give whales their space, particularly when they are feeding, as their focus is solely on finding food.
The incident serves as a reminder of the need for caution and awareness when boating in areas known to be frequented by whales. While it is a rare occurrence for a whale to intentionally hit a boat, it is essential for boaters to be mindful of the marine life around them. By respecting these majestic creatures and giving them the space they need, both boaters and whales can coexist safely in our oceans.
