NANTUCKET, MASS. (WHDH) - A close call off of Nantucket when two whales came right up to a fisherman’s boat earlier this week.
“I’ve seen them close before, maybe a couple hundred yards, but that was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime for them to come that close to the boat,” Josh Holdgate said.
Holdgate was tuna fishing with five others aboard Captain Pete Kaizer’s Althea K about 30 miles east of Nantucket.
Holdgate said the fog was thick which made it harder to spot the whales.
“Usually, you can see them for a couple miles,” he said. “The only time you could see them was inside that fog bank which is maybe 300 yards of visibility, so once they came up, they’re already on top of you. They’re 50 feet long. It’s pretty incredible.”
They took the boat from the island’s harbor Monday, but their fishing trip quickly turned into a sightseeing tour.
“People go on whale watches for hours and hours and don’t have an experience as close as that,” he said.
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