Not such a Whale of a Time!

Eish! A breaching whale came crashing down on a yacht sailing just off Cape Town. All those involved (the whale and those on the yacht) survived in tact…and are currently making headlines around the world.

The incident happened on Sunday when Ralph Mothes and Paloma Werner, both of Cape Town Sailing Academy were making their way to Robben Island on their yacht, the Intrepid. The two are both used to open sea adventures as it’s part of their business, but this is the first time they’ve had such a close shave with a whale. The 40-ton whale landed on the deck of their boat!

Ralph has left a ‘stop press’ message on their website saying that “the good news is that we are all ok, the whale is feeling somewhat bruised but otherwise unhurt and Intrepid should be back in business in about 10 days time, ready to resume our teaching schedule. It gives the phrase.’have a whale of a time’ a whole new meaning and both Paloma and I are indeed lucky to be alive and unhurt.”

He promises that they’ll post an account of their experience on their News page soon.

In the mean time, here are some photos from the Sailing Academy’s website gallery that show the moment just before the whale made impact, as well as the after-effects! The photos were apparently taken by a passenger on a nearby boat.