This is the incredible moment a massive 30 feet humpback whale leaps out of the ocean, only a few feet away of a cruising ship. Marine life enthusiast John Goodridge witnessed the rare scene that left everyone on the ship open-mouthed.
The 54-year-old man, originally from Yorkshire, UK, was on a cruise ship a few miles away off the New South Wales coast, when spotted the gigantic mammal breaching in a very spectacular sight. The man, who moved to Australia for over 20 years, said he never experienced anything like this, even if he’s a whale photographer for nearly three years now.
“There were about 70 people on our whale watching boat,” Goodridge shared with the local media. “All of a sudden this humpback whale jumped out of the water and did this amazing vertical breach. It was a remarkable sight.”
Although witnessing a humpback whale breaching might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this sight was even more remarkable due the whale’s ‘incredibly rare’ perfectly vertical breach.
“Whales usually breach to the side. But this one came up perfectly vertical,” Goodridge said. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s incredibly rare.” However, the moment last only a couple of seconds, but enough for the vigilante photographer to grab some incredible snaps of the massive whale. “It happened so quick,” he said. “A lot of people missed it. In less than two seconds it was all over.”
Every year on April and November, the eastern coastline of Australia becomes a popular destination for whale watchers as the large marine mammals gather here to mate and give birth.
Bellow you can see another humpback whale breach in front of tourists of a cruise ship in waters off Tonga!
Source CatersNews
