Watch This Wing Surfer Get Knocked Off Their Board By a Breaching Whale

Wing surfing is hard enough without a whale trying to join you on your board! This extraordinary footage was captured off the coast of Mona Vale, in Sydney, Australia. It shows a 55-year-old wing surfer getting broadsided by a huge breaching whale. To make matters worse, the whale dragged him under the water by his leg rope. Thankfully, it snapped and he was able to make it safely back to the surface. What a lucky escape!

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What Is a Whale Breach?

When a whale breaches, they propel their body out of the water. A full breach is when more than half of their body appears above the waves. If half or less of their body is above the water, it is called a half breach. During the breach, whales can spin in either direction. Some land on their backs and others on their sides. To achieve a ‘chin slap breach’, the whale needs to move vertically so that they land on their throat or belly. Some whales propel the lower part of their body and their tail out of the water and this is called ‘tail breach’.

Breaching is just one of the moves recorded in whales. They can also dive, round out, log, spyhop, and flipper slap. It’s amazing just how agile these huge creatures can be!

This behavior is observed most often in humpback and sperm whales. However, many other baleen whales have also been spotted breaching including the blue whale, the gray whale, and the minke whale. Orcas are not whales but are common breachers and they often coordinate their breaching as a pod.

Why Do Whales Breach?

There are several theories on why whales breach. They likely indulge in this behavior for several different reasons. Most people agree that they breach to inform other whales of something that they want or as a form of play. Some species breach more during the mating season so it may be a way to indicate that they are receptive to finding a partner. They may also do this to show off their physical abilities so that they look attractive to the opposite sex.

Some whales may breach to let other whales know that there is a threat nearby. They may even be indicating that there is a source of food in the location. Whales have been seen using breaching to stun fish so that it’s easier to eat them!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/PaulWolf