Two brothers claim they are lucky to be alive after a whale three times the size of their boat leaped out of the water and nearly sent them overboard.
James and Ben Cullen got the shock of their lives when the mammal unexpectedly jumped out of the sea just a few metres in front of them on a fishing trip yesterday afternoon.
The brothers, 27 and 26, had turned off the engine of their five-metre vessel to film another whale in the distance near Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia.
But before they knew what was happening – and still filming – another 15-metre humpback launched itself towards them out of the blue.
The 15-metre whale took James and Ben Cullen by surprise as it leaped out of the water just metres away from their boat in Queensland, Australia yesterday
The brothers, 27, and 26, had turned their boat’s engine off to film another whale far in the distance
James, a diesel fitter from Rockhampton, Queensland, said: ‘It was supposed to be a normal morning fishing.
‘I was actually trying to film another whale we could see in the distance about 60 metres away, so we turned the engines off.
‘That exact moment this huge whale jumped out of the water, it must only have been about a metre from the boat. We think it was the calf of the one we could see in the distance.
‘It was just complete luck that I was filming at that exact moment – it was unreal timing.
‘It just completely drenched the both of us. At the time it was like it happened in slow motion, so we didn’t really have time to be scared.’
Mr Cullen and his brother were on their first ever fishing trip on the new boat and were the envy of their younger brother Clayton, 25, who usually goes with them.
He added: ‘We are lucky to be here though, it could have turned out way worse for us.
‘Luckily he was well aware of us and knew exactly where we were. He was definitely just showing off – I think he had a big rush of energy and was trying to prove who was the bigger man.’
But just as they started filming the humpback shot out of the water nearly capsizing the boat
The impressive footage has racked up thousands of views on social media.
The brothers also managed to catch 20kg of Spanish mackerel on the same day.
Mr Cullen said: ‘There are a lot of whales around this area, especially at this time of year, and we do see them regularly when we go fishing but never this close up.
‘You’re not allowed to approach them, you have to stay more than 50 metres (164ft) away, which is why we turned the engines off when we saw the other one in the distance.
James (pictured) and his brother managed to catch 20kg of Spanish mackerel on the same day
His brother Ben (pictured) posted the footage on social media, racking up thousands of views
‘People have said the whales seem to be coming a lot closer this year and being more inquisitive.
‘No one can believe the video and how close the whale came to us, even after watching it over and over. It is amazing.’
His brother added: ‘It was the boat’s second trip, but its first fishing trip.
‘It really was incredible, usually fishing stories are just tales, but we have the proof.’