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Watch: Kayakers’ Peaceful Trip Turns Life-Threatening When THIS Launches From Water Right Next To Them
A couple kayaking off the coast of California over the weekend got the ride of their lives, when a massive humpback whale breached within feet of their boat.
Several kayakers were enjoying the serenity of Monterrey Bay on Saturday about a mile off the coast from the town of Moss Landing, when the life threatening leap occurred.
“Humpbacks were coming up next to and in the middle of many kayakers. It was amusing. It’s all fun and games until someone gets jumped on,” Sanctuary Cruises wrote underneath a YouTube video of the incident published on Sept. 13. “The next thing we knew, this thing launched right on top of these two kayakers. That was heavy.”
Video of the frightening incident was taken by Larry Plants, a passenger on Sanctuary Cruises.
“Kayaking with whales can be extremely dangerous. It can turn into a life or death situation real quick-like. Within seconds. It was very scary to watch,” Captain Michael Sack of Sanctuary Cruises wrote on his website after witnessing the encounter. “They came very close to getting crushed to death by the mighty humpback whale. A full-size humpback can weigh in at 40-tons. That’s a lot of heavy blubber that would surely flatten a kayaker if the whale had a direct hit,” he wrote.
Image Credit: Google Maps
Yahoo News reports that one of the two capsized kayakers, Tom-a wildlife director, recounted the encounter. “The most extraordinary thing to happen to me. We were taken under the water by the whale, perhaps in the down-draft.” he said. “I think it brushed against me while I was out of the kayak… Neither of us know how we weren’t ended there and then.”
When they emerged: “we definitely understood how lucky we were, and were pretty confused,” he said.
Captain Sack wrote that experienced kayakers came over to help the couple get their craft righted and drained.
“And one should realize that humpback whales are wild animals and totally unpredictable. It’s a very uncontrolled environment out there. Just like any wilderness experience,” wrote the captain.
“Humpbacks are not the largest animals in the world, that distinction goes to blue whales, which are also swimming through the Monterey Bay right now. Humpbacks, however, can still grow to 62 feet long, and weigh as much as 50 tons, according to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium,” according to local NBC News affiliate KSBW.
h/t: GrindTV
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/watch-kayakers-peaceful-trip-turns-life-threatening-when-this-launches-from-water-right-next-to-them/
