Whale Jumping on Boat: Shocking Video, Photos You Can't Believe

By: Neil Katz
Topics: ,; ,

(CBS) It's footage that you just can't believe even with both eyes wide open.

Off the coast of South Africa, a 40-ton whale flipped into the air and smashed the mast of a 33-foot boat.

"It's such a loud sound, when you hear those whales flapping their tails," the boat's owner Ralph Mothes said. "We were attracted by the sound."

Sailors on a neighboring boat managed to snap some stunning images of the huge sea mammal shooting out of the water, practically on top of the yacht. The next pictures show the destroyed mast of Mothes' yacht, which the whale snapped like a matchstick as it fell through the air.

Amazingly, nobody was hurt and the wrecked boat managed to keep floating. CBS News' "The Early Show" has the full story and amazing interview with Mothes and his wife.

7 Photos

Whale Lands on Yacht

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by CPA1976 July 22, 2010 2:11 PM EDT

Video, not so shocking. Picture could be fake.

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by ReginaFilangee July 23, 2010 6:20 PM EDT: Sure, the pic of the whale landing on the boat could be fake....but how else do you propose that the sailboat got destroyed so much while in the water? (The neighboring boat has pics of it before, after...still in the water, then there are closeup pics taken later when back in the harbor.)

Do you really think they orchestrated smashing up a sailboat at sea?

No, the video shows nothing other than the interview. I used to sail a lot, and don't ever remember keeping a VIDEO camera focused on another boat "just in case" something so unexpected might happen. Still pics, yes. Video, no.

I'm inclined to believe that the pics are authentic. Otherwise, they would have much more clearly shown the whale. It was just a split second warning they had to capture what they did.