Holy Crap! Whale Capsizes Boat Off New Jersey Coast

The footage above is off a humpback that was spotted off the New Jersey coast June 3.

This must have been quite the terrifying encounter. Imagine sailing off the coast, and then all of sudden, a giant marine animal that you never saw coming knocks you straight off your boat?

ABC reports that two occupants were thrown off their 25 foot boat after a humpback whale landed on them Monday afternoon. The accident reportedly happened about a dozen yards off the coast of Seaside Park, New Jersey. Bob Schoelkopf, the director of the Brigantine-based Marine Mammal Stranding Center, said:

The whale did what whales usually do — they’re looking for food, and they don’t pay attention. It breached the boat and knocked it out of the water.

Both occupants made it back to shore, according to NJ.com. The whale appeared uninjured, and swam off. Humpbacks are often spotted off the coast this time of year. In June 2017, a humpback nearly landed on a boat off the coast of Union Beach. In August 2018, a 25-foot fishing boat was flipped after it was struck by a whale off the coast near Asbury Park. The two men on board were tossed into the water, though neither suffered any injuries.

Wikipedia says that full grown male humpbacks average 43–46 feet. Females are even larger, at 49–52 feet. The animal can also weigh up to 50 tons.

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