Several boaters off the coast of Duxbury now have a whale of a tale to tell, after one of the enormous animals got close enough to their boat to leave a crack Sunday afternoon.

Boaters said they had seen whales numerous times on other trips, but the one that brushed up against their vessel Sunday was a different kettle of fish.

“This whale just came up and smacked the front, I thought the whole boat was going over,” said Chuck Richards, whose family owns the boat. “I just held on and my son and granddaughter were going ‘Uh-oh.'”

“It almost pushed the boat over backwards,” said witness Fred Rocket.

People in the area said whales have been visible all week, although never that close to boaters.

The whale left a visible crack in the boat, but that didn’t stop Richards and his family — they stayed out on the water for the rest of the day.

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