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Whale Capsizes Boat Off Coast of New Hampshire
RYE, N.H. — A dramatic incident unfolded off the coast of New Hampshire when a whale capsized a boat, resulting in two fishermen being thrown into the waters. Fortunately, two teenagers who were nearby and witnessed the event immediately came to their aid.
Two Men Thrown Overboard
“You know the risk when you come out here; it’s really unusual what happened to us this morning,” remarked Greg Paquette, one of the men who was thrown from the boat.
Paquette and his companion, Ryland Kenney, were enjoying a fishing expedition near Rye, New Hampshire, when a whale unexpectedly breached and toppled their vessel.
“Thankfully, it was slow enough that I could kind of swim my way out away from it before it completely capsized,” Paquette recalled of the harrowing moment.
In the chaos, Kenney struggled for a moment before locating Paquette in the water. “Not much time to react,” he said, describing how he leaped from the boat to reach his friend. “I took a few steps off and basically did a superman off the boat.”
Two teenagers, Colin and Wyatt Yager, were fishing close by and captured video of the encounter. They reported observing the whale breach several times after the incident. “It’s just unreal. Completely unreal,” Colin expressed, holding a fishing rod in one hand and his phone in the other.
The whale, which was seen leaping from the water and crashing down onto the boat’s stern, appeared to be pursuing fish, according to eyewitness accounts. A Coast Guard crew from Station Portsmouth confirmed that the whale seemed uninjured following the encounter and that NOAA was notified about the event.
“This is Their Home”
Remarkably, the two men remained in the water for only a minute before the teenagers came to their rescue.
“We are grateful to the good Samaritans for taking such quick action to rescue these two individuals. Bravo Zulu!” the Coast Guard noted on their X account.
Both men were ultimately unharmed, although they lost some personal belongings during the ordeal, including Paquette’s iPhone. The boat was salvaged by Coast Guard personnel.
Kenney reflected on the incident, saying, “That’s the one thing we’ve got to realize: this is their home. This is their ocean, so we’re in their way.” The Coast Guard urged boaters to be vigilant and report any whale sightings to local command centers.
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Mike Sullivan
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