Whale jumps sailboat...

Whale watching... UP CLOSE!!!

And I thought it hurt when I dropped a brick on my toe.

Do you guys think the photo is legit?

If you download it and blow it up there is a lot of pixelation around the whale's head.

I would be P.O.'d that the " boat nearby" didn't offer some assistance....

You mean like this: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blsharkattack.htm

Like what, a fishing rod? Actually, the story said they were able to motor into shore. I'm sure there was a radio call to check that they were OK.

I downloaded it. Zoomed in and you're right. The whale's head appears more pixelated, but it's possible this was caused by water droplets. Something else caught my eye though. Along the port side of the hull, up toward the bow, it looks like someone blended the shadow of the whale against the hull because a white highlight is used to differentiate the hull from the water. I agree Marmot. This could be P-chopped.

What I found amazingly ironic was the name... INTREPID! What are the chances ???

Spoke too soon. Looks like our hull-hurdling whale made the NBC Nightly News. Appears to be authentic?

I wouldn't put absolute faith, or any really, in the NBC Nightly News (remember Datelines exploding pickup trucks?). It looks fake to me because of the pixelation around the whale but beyond that the guy at the helm is not even looking at it. They don't come up so fast he wouldn't have time to react. Me, I'd be staring at the whale with my hands in front of me going .

I find it hard to believe that the boat still floats after that incident. 40 tons of mass (or thereabouts) coming down on the port side of the boat is one heck of an impact.

Of course! It's just still a surprise to me.
I can't think of it being photoshopped considering the other damage the boat sustained. Just a crazy story all around.

-Cheers

If this was a genuine story, I would expect there to be some shots of the damage to the yacht. Look at all the other collision stories in the media, many of them quoted in YF, there are always shots of the damaged boat.

With this photographer so on the money just before impact, there has to be some follow-up material to go with it! If it’s genuine that is.

Oh Wow!

(Says he, hurriedly eating his words…)

Thanks K1W1

New video of the incident here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38379217#38379217

Video here too : http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6704191n

Ya sure the damage didn't happen when they hit a plastic buoy? It's been known to happen.

Well, I said the photo looked fake but the video is a little harder to argue with. Maybe it's real.