Breaching whale crushes sailboat in Table Bay

Cape Town Sailing Academy owners Paloma Werner and boyfriend/business partner Ralph Mothes could not have predicted the unlikely turn of events that occurred during a typical morning cruise around Table Bay a fortnight ago.

A young southern right whale approximately 11 – 14 metres in length breached onto the couple’s sailboat, leaving behind bits of blubber, thick skin and a severely damaged boat. Fortunately the couple’s 10 m training sail yacht, called Intrepid, was made of steel lessening the impact of the collision. Boats are typically made of fiberglass and the impact of such a collision on a fiberglass boat would probably have crushed the vessel completely.

“We had been taking some pictures and had just decided to head back when the whale breached about 100 metres away from us. It then suddenly breached about [another] 10 metres from us and then – right on us! We were sailing so had no engine and we could not even take any action. It was a very scary experience,” said Werner.

After the incident, Mothes and Werner surveyed the damage to their boat. "The first thing we did was make sure there was no water downstairs. We didn't know if the whale was coming back," said Werner.

According to a Cape Town marine scientist whales don’t rely solely on sight to get around, but also on sound. Between the whale’s poor eyesight and the water’s low visibility, the young mammal probably didn’t see the boat.

Although the couple was unharmed, they could not have anticipated such a close meeting with a whale.

Perhaps this encounter is a reminder that humans and the natural world will eventually collide.