Boat -v- Whale off Block Island
 

https://www.golocalprov.com/news/boa...cues-five-from

Boat struck by whale? That's what it would have to have been judging by that hole... Not one mention of the whale breaching? And crew member fell overboard, ONTO the whale??? Sounds fishy to me, but that is a big hole.

Funny, in all the years I have been out and seen whales, and sometimes been close enough to have gotten wet when one breached, I have never feared one would strike the boat.....

Sure it was a hungry great white with a graving for fishermen?

I 2nd that thats an odd sized hole to be caused by a whale ... maybe if the whale tail slapped the boat ? not any crazier than being swallowed by A whale I guess

Legit... heard it on the vhf...
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Joe Fig says legit, so I dove back in for another look.... And the hole is not as bad as I first surmised, though it is in a sturdy section of the hull. Once you take away all the bags, towels cushions, and whatever else the crew jammed into the hole to prevent water from coming in, it looks like it could have been made by the whale's fluke. I think we have all seen footage of whales slapping the water with their flukes. Just never thought of being within their reach....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCLLWzhciBA

Also watched this video. Around 1:00 there is some slapping that shows the shear power these creatures have, and around 2:20 it gets into a very precarious position to the boat that before this story, I would have never considered to be a possible danger to boat and crew.... Much too close in my opinion, but still amazing footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhMRehH5N9w

whale
 

One day while fishing on Stellwagen in the fog, I saw a wave come over the bow from the port side. As the sea conditions were flat calm I was confused, then a massive white thing appeared on the port side. It then made contact with the hull and pushed the entire bow to about 2 o'clock. Then I saw the top of this thing, which was black and realized I was looking at the tale of a large whale. The boat was a 31 ft. Duffy and had a tonnage of over 20,000.00 lbs. Saw a large whale a little later with a calf along its side. Mamma seemed to be saying get away from my baby. Very gentle push no damage or marks won't ever forget that day!

I also read of another boat that hit a whale head on. The boat bounced off, no damage to boat or whale. The whale swam off.

In addition, also read of a full breach directly in front of a boat that was trolling. The captain had to cut the motors and swerve hard toward another boat. The other boat was in dismay, not seeing the breach and at a loss as to why another boat would turn hard toward them.

A friend of mine was at the marina where they hauled the boat out and he talked to the owner. It was a fun slap not the head and it caught them all by surprise.
I wonder if this is considered good luck like having a bird take a dump on your head?
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