A whale, mid-breach, struck a small boat off New Hampshire, capsizing the vessel and hurling two fishermen into the ocean within seconds. Colin and Wyatt Yager, teenage brothers from Maine on a nearby boat, captured the dramatic incident on video and shared it on social media, where it quickly went viral, told The Sun.
The video, posted on Tuesday, has been viewed over four million times and received hundreds of comments. The caption, warning local residents to beware of a “pissed off whale” patrolling the waters of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, reads, “Head on swivel if you’re out there.”
U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Diolanda Caballero confirmed to Seacoastonline that the Yager brothers “swiftly rescued” the two fishermen after their boat capsized off Odiorne Point in Rye, New Hampshire.
Wyatt Yager initially wasn’t concerned about the whale, as all the boats stayed on the edge of the school of fish, allowing the whale to feed. However, the whale got too close, causing the boat to tip over. “I was just in shock,” Wyatt said. “Everyone else had the same reaction and tried to get over to those people. It was like, ‘Oh shoot,’ and then, ‘We’ve got to go help these people.’ All the boats dropped what they were doing to go over to help them.”
Fortunately, neither the fishermen nor the whale were injured in the incident. The Coast Guard became aware of the capsized vessel Tuesday morning. The Yager brothers were fishing for menhaden, also known as “pogies,” around 7 a.m. when the whale collided with Greg Paquette and Ryland Kenney’s boat about an hour later.
Paquette and Kenney recounted their harrowing experience to Seacoastonline. Kenney recalled hearing a “big crackle” before the bow of the boat tipped up. “When that happened … the bow tipped up and I went to the left and as the boat was rolling over, I kind of jumped off horizontally to avoid the whale and the boat,” Kenney said.
Paquette remembered seeing the whale’s head slam down on the boat’s engine before being thrown into the water. “Then I saw the whole stern become inundated with water and I thought, ‘Oh no. We’re going down. We’re going to sink now,'” he said. The fishermen managed to swim away from the boat within seconds but soon became exhausted after the initial “energy and adrenaline” wore off.
“It’s been an emotional day,” Paquette said.
The Yager brothers kept Paquette and Kenney on their boat for about 15 minutes before dropping them off at a friend’s vessel nearby. The Coast Guard then transported the two fishermen to Great Cove Boat Club in Eliot, Maine.
Paquette and Kenney praised the quick actions of the Yager brothers, who stepped in to help within minutes. “We’re glad they took such quick action,” Paquette said. “They didn’t even think about it. We’re really grateful to both of them.”
Colin Yager’s reaction to the breach has garnered significant attention on social media. Commenters have highlighted his swift instincts, with one user noting, “Kid’s like ‘I want to go home now,’” and another saying, “That kid had the right idea lol turned around and was ready to book it.”
Daisy Evans, another user, remarked on the “incredible scene” resulting from “unfortunate timing,” pointing out that the whale was breaching under a school of baitfish next to the boat. “You can actually see dozens of fish pouring out of its mouth as it impacts the boat. The whale was not attacking,” she wrote.