A fisherman took an unexpected swim when a minke whale collided with his boat, sending him overboard as his fishing partner, who videotaped the impact, went flying to the deck.
Cris Lane and Dave McCann were fishing off West Cork, Ireland, on Monday when they noticed quite a bit of activity in the water.
“There were dolphins, fin whales and minke all around us; a group of whales about 300 yards away from us,” Lane told CorkBeo.
“Next thing I knew, one of the whales just slammed into the side of the boat. The other guy went flying onto the deck and I went flying off the back of the boat into the water.
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“Dave got up and he didn’t know where I was,” Lane continued. “He checked the cabin because he thought I might be in there. It took him a moment to realize I was in the water trying to get back on.”
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McCann captured video of the impact from which he produced a photo of the minke whale colliding with the boat.
Lane, who was wearing a lifejacket, was not injured but did lose his cell phone in the mishap. He used the opportunity to warn others to always wear a lifejacket.
“You have to wear a lifejacket, and you should have a means of getting back in the boat, too,” Lane told CorkBeo.
CorkBeo reported that minke, fin and humpback whales are currently feeding off the coast of Cork and that Lane’s boat “simply got in the way of one hungry whale’s lunch.”
Photos courtesy of Cris Lane.