Reuters AlertNet Lite - Sorry dude! No hard feelings after whale hits boat

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

Sorry dude! No hard feelings after whale hits boat

10 Jan 2007 07:02:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

SYDNEY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A sailor whose yacht was destroyed by a humpback whale off New Zealand said he had got a good "vibe" from the giant mammal and thought it was trying to say sorry, local media said on Wednesday.

Lindsay Wright was sailing his brand-new 10-metre (30-ft) trimaran, named Loose Goose, about 80 nautical miles off the west coast of North Island on Tuesday when he hit the whale.

Wright said he had been sleeping when he was awoken by a loud noise and rushed up on deck to find himself staring at a whale's head about a foot away.

"I got good vibes off him. I thought he was trying to say sorry mate, I didn't mean to," Wright told New Zealand television.

He said the whale, a large male in a pod of about six humpbacks, had hit his yacht with its tail, opening a large hole in one of the boats's three hulls.

"When I first saw him I thought he had come back for the coup de grace," Australian Associated Press quoted Wright as saying.

Wright activated a distress beacon as his yacht took on water and lost electrical power. He was winched to safety aboard a rescue helicopter about five hours later, Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio said.

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

NGO latest

• Austcare welcomes Australia's position on the Certain Conventional Weapons Convention
AUSTCARE - Australia

• Alliance urges action to close the HIV services gap at International Development Committee session on global HIV epidemic
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

• Sorry dude! No hard feelings after whale hits boat

• Munroe the "Groucho Marx" penguin has happy feet

• Philippines says kills senior Muslim militant

• Riot emergency at Australian Aboriginal community

• Australia warns of bombs in southern Philippines

MORE >>

Last updated:Wed Jan 10 07:04:10 2007