Whale Leaps Aboard Sailing Boat

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

(11:15 AM ET) (15:15 GMT)

Reuters

"There was a bang and a thud, and a whale came about 12 ft out of the water and slid down the side. It was shedding barnacles from its tummy and caught itself on the rigging. I was very shocked -- it was very scary," Mark Johnson told the newspaper.

LONDON, England -- Reuters
A British family's holiday was rudely interrupted when a 30-foot (9-meter) whale crashed onto their sailing boat off the east coast of Australia.

The 10-ton humpback whale leapt out of the water and pulled the rigging and mast along with it as it slid down the boat, British media reported on Wednesday.

"I was below deck when there was a hell of a crash from port as it leapt out of nowhere," said Trevor Johnson, 61, who was on the boat with his wife, two sons and a son's girlfriend.

"It's amazing that no one was hurt or killed, but it was a terrifying experience," he told The Daily Telegraph.
(More: CNN.com)
2003 © Reuters, Ltd.

Dan