Getting thrown into the ocean by a massive humpback whale that comes crashing down onto your boat is no walk in the park, according to the fishermen who've become world famous for their extremely close encounter off New Hampshire on Tuesday.
"You're basically trying to survive," said Ryland Kenney, one of the fishermen who was dumped into the Atlantic by the whale. "It's something that happens so quickly."
The incident involving Kenney and Greg Paquette was caught on amazing video, filmed from a nearby boat, near Odiorne Point State Park, just south of Portsmouth.
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"Their boat was hit by the whale, capsized. They were thrown out into the water," another boater said in making mayday call to the Coast Guard, made about 7:45 a.m.
While no one was hurt, including the whale, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, it was still a dangerous situation.
"The water temperature was 55 degrees, so when I dropped in, it was really hard for me to catch my breath," Kenney said. "I wasn't scared at that point, it was the shock of the water."
It happened with no warning, according Paquette: "Next thing we knew, he just popped up and landed on the transom of our boat."
Brothers Colin and Wyatt Yager ended up rescuing them. They saw the whole thing happen from their boat nearby.
"They were kind of laughing about it. They were in shock but they were in good spirits. They weren't completely freaked out," said Wyatt, 19.
Colin, 16, said he was enjoying the moment, watching pogies fly out of the water, looking for stripers to catch and hoping to get a video of the whale breaching.
"I fish a lot, maybe like five times a week, and I've never seen anything like that," he said.
Colin's video shows the moment the whale hit the neighboring boat. Wyatt shouts in surprise and immediately turns the boat around to rescue the men in the water.
Kenney and Paquette had other friends out on the water, in a bigger boat, so the brothers dropped them off and continued on with their morning.
“I thought it was just a crazy memorable experience, I’m just happy that everyone was alright so it’s not a terrible memory for anyone," Colin said.
The boat was recovered from the water — it ended up with a cracked engine. The Coast Guard urged boaters who see whales off New England's coast to report the sightings.
The video almost immediately went viral and was quickly played around the world — just like another whale-vs.-boat incident in the area almost exactly two years ago.
The story even attracted the attention of "Captain" Dave Portnoy, who himself had to be rescued by the Coast Guard last week.
"You just gotta have the feel for the ocean like I do," he said, likely with a smidge of irony — he told NBC10 Boston after having to be rescued that it was his third time on a boat.
"They're not looking for you," Portnoy said in his commentary on the whale breach. "You're in his living room, alright? He's just trying to enjoy the day, come up for a quick sun. Boom — boat."
