Enormous Shark Approaches Sailboat In New England, Passengers In Awe

Spotting a shark in the waters off the coast of New England is not uncommon. Yet, it’s still a surprise to see an enormous shark swim so close to a sailboat as it does in this video. The close encounter in these particular waters is enough to make anyone think of the haunting Jaws theme song.

Check Out This Massive Basking Shark In The Video Below!

The video was expertly captured by a person in the crow’s nest of the sailboat, a lookout structure on the boat’s main mast. As the video starts, the cameraman remains fixed on the port side of the boat, having spotted and perhaps called out that a large shark is approaching.

Other passengers, some squealing in delight, quickly flock to the port side and point out the shark as it slowly approaches the boat. The large fish appears to be anywhere between 20 and 30 ft long, a massive specimen.

The shark continues to swim toward the sailboat, getting within 30 to 50 feet of the boat. Suddenly, it loses interest in the sailboat and turns tail. Clearly, it wants no part of something as large and imposing as a boat full of pointing humans.

Meanwhile, the cameraman in the crow’s nest can only croak, “Holy ****.” The enormous shark turns and swims away from the rear port side of the ship. He continues to follow the shark’s progress as it swims.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, the enormous shark swims farther away into the blue coastal waters and disappears. The passengers aboard the sailboat reminisce and perhaps come to a stunning realization that something this large and terrifying could easily approach them without them knowing.

Fortunately, these lucky passengers got a great look at a monster shark without needing a bigger boat. In fact, they were probably not in any danger even if they fell into the water. Based on the shark’s size and morphology, it was probably a basking shark.

Basking sharks are a very large species that have been spotted off the coast of various states in New England. They frequently weigh over 10,000 lbs and can reach a length of almost 40 ft at their biggest. Although they are very big, these sharks are not known for killing humans.

Instead, most of their diet consists of shrimp, plankton, and larvae of other creatures. They are filter feeders that prefer to avoid large objects in the water. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you want to go swimming in these waters. After all, they are home to several species that could attack.

Shark attacks around New England are very rare, but it’s still safer to view them from a distance as the passengers on this boat did.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Martin Prochazkacz/Shutterstock.com