Environment

Whale Jumps on Boat Off Cape Town South Africa (Photo)

by Amy Judd | July 21, 2010 at 07:41 am

12956 views | 1 Recommendation | 1 comment

A Southern Right Whale Surprised a Couple Whale-Watching Off Cape Town When it Jumped Up and Landed On Their Yacht

Ms. Paloma Werner and her boyfriend Ralph Mothes just had time to take cover before the whale crashed down on top of their boat and then slid back in to the water. The southern right whale, an endangered species, is known for having poor eyesight and that may be a reason why it breached the water and then landed on the boat.

The BBC reports that the whale was about 33 feet long.

A nearby tourist from Botswana managed to snap this photo of the whale coming out of the water, just seconds before it crashed on top of the yacht. They also took an 'after' photo of the damage the whale left behind.

The couple said that they first spotted the whale about 100 feet away from their boat and then all of a sudden it was right beside them. The couple run the Cape Town Sailing Academy so they are experienced sailors.

"I assumed it would go underneath the boat, but instead it sprang out of the sea," the 50-year-old said. "We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge."

They insist they do not hold anything against the whale however, they said they knew the whale did not intend to attack them.

"I still like whales!" Ms Werner told the BBC afterwards.

They were able to use the engine to pilot back to shore as they were not taking on water.

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Boat tops guy (not verified)

at 06:59 on August 3rd, 2010

Even that what happen to the two, it only shows that we need always to take care of ourselves in all circumstances,we need to know safety precaution in our boat. I've learned this thing in one of the sites of one of the boat maker in Canada. <a href="www.ostler-boat-tops.com/blog/">Boat Tops</a This site is very informative and i learned a lot with them.