Whale Capsizes Fishing Boat Off New Hampshire Coast

A routine fishing trip turned into a harrowing encounter with marine wildlife when a humpback whale breached and overturned a small vessel off the coast of New Hampshire, throwing two fishermen into the water.

The incident occurred near Odiorne Point State Park, where Ryland Kenney and Greg Paquette were fishing when their boat was suddenly upended by the surfacing whale. The dramatic scene unfolded before several nearby vessels, prompting a swift rescue operation.

“He went under, disappeared for a few minutes, and then the next thing we know, he just popped right up on our transom,” Kenney recounted to WMUR-TV, describing the moment of impact.

Paquette added, “When I turned, the whale’s head was already landing on the engine. I look down, the boat is pitching up, the transom is going down into the water.”

Witnesses aboard a neighboring boat immediately radioed a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard, reporting the capsized vessel and confirming that both passengers had been safely retrieved by another boat in the vicinity.

Brothers Colin and Wyatt Yager, who were fishing nearby, rushed to assist the stranded men. Colin Yager managed to capture video footage of the whale’s collision with the boat, a rare documentation of such an event.

“I had my fishing rod right here, phone in my hand and just saw it go up, and was just lucky enough to be facing the right direction,” Colin Yager told local media.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the whale emerged from the encounter unharmed. Sara Morris of the University of New Hampshire Shoals Marine Laboratory suggested that the whale was likely engaged in feeding behavior at the time of the incident.

“The whales are moving around underwater and coming up, potentially in an area different from where they went down,” Morris explained, emphasizing the importance of giving these marine mammals a wide berth.

While orcas have been known to deliberately target boats, humpback whales typically approach vessels out of curiosity rather than aggression. Experts note that humpbacks are generally considered gentle giants, though caution is always advised when sharing waters with these massive creatures.