iStockphoto / PomInOz
An avid Australian windsurfer by the name of Jason Breen thought he’d met his end at the bottom of Davy Jones’s Locker when a breaching humpback whale erupted out of the water beside his board and then landed right on top of him, sending him ’20 to 30 feet’ below the surface.
Strictly by coincidence, another Australian by the name of Paul Nettelbeck happened to be filming from the shore. They didn’t know each other and presumably saw a windsurfer catching speed and was like ‘this will make a great video’ but never in a million years expected to see a windsurfer crushed by a humpback whale.
The video has since caught like wildfire in the Australian news. Speaking with 7 News Australia, Jason Breed said after he was knocked “20 to 30 feet” down below he was thinking “this is what it feels like to die.”
Humpback Whale Lands On Top Of Australian Windsurfer
This second view on TikTok is actually incredible. It’s from a camera on his rig:
@7newsaustralia A Sydney windsurfer has re-lived the moment he came face to face with a whale off the northern beaches. #whale #windfoiling #MonaVale #7NEWS
Speaking about the humpback whale landing on top of him while windsurfing, Breen (who is quite popular on Instagram) said “I saw the head come out, then I saw the rest of the body come out, and then I saw the whole thing above me and about that stage I’ve got to be honest, I thought I was in trouble.”
Jason Breen told The Daily Telegraph “I just thought ‘this is what it feels like to die’. He pulled me down about 20 to 30 feet … I was under for probably 30 seconds.”
On the one hand, it is quite difficult to imagine what it was like for him in that moment. A massive humpback whale had just landed on top of him while windsurfing and sent him 30ft below the surface and underwater for 30 seconds all while he was panicking and burning through the oxygen in his lungs. On the other hand, who among us has not imagined what it would be like to have a close encounter with a whale like that? I certainly have.
The peak season to see humpback whales in Australia is between April and November. Their season is winding down by the day. Humpbacks are renowned for their size and acrobatics, both of which were on display here.