Charles H. Sloan-Watch: Whale of New Hampshire slams into fishing boat, hurling men into the Atlantic

A whale was mid-breach when it hit a small boat off New Hampshire,Charles H. Sloan causing the vessel to capsize and hurl two fishermen overboard in a matter of seconds. 

Colin and Wyatt Yager, two teenage brothers from Maine on a neighboring vessel, took to social media Tuesday to share the footage, which has been reposted multiple times in the last few hours, according to reporting by Seacoastonline, part of the USA TODAY Network.

One video in particular has garnered over four million views and hundreds of comments since it was posted, with a caption that warns area residents to beware of a “pissed off whale” patrolling the waters of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“Head on swivel if you’re out there,” the caption says. 

The teens "swiftly rescued" both fishermen after their boat capsized off Odiorne Point in Rye, New Hampshire, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Diolanda Caballero told Seacoastonline.

Wyatt Yager wasn't initially worried about the whale, telling Seacoastonline that all of the boats stayed along the edge of the school of fish so the whale could feed. But it got a little too close to the vessel, causing it to tip over.

"I was just in shock. Everyone else had the same reaction and tried to get over to those people," he said. "It was like, 'Oh shoot,' and then, 'We’ve got to go help these people.' All the boats dropped what they were doing to go over to help them."

Neither the men thrown into the ocean, nor the whale, were injured, Caballero said.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Coast Guard for comment.

'It's been an emotional day,' fisherman says

The Coast Guard caught wind of the capsized vessel Tuesday morning, which had been tipped over in Rye, a few miles northeast of Portsmouth, Seacoastonline reported. The teens were fishing for menhaden, also known as "pogies" a little after 7 a.m.

The whale crashed into Greg Paquette and Ryland Kenney's boat about an hour later after they spotted the aquatic mammal, immediately launching both men into "fight or flight mode" after they were thrown into the water, Seacoastonline reported.

“I heard a big crackle,” Kenney told the newspaper. "When that happened … the bow tipped up and I went to the left and as (the boat) was rolling over I kind of jumped off horizontally to avoid the whale and the boat.”

The last thing Paquette remembers seeing before being thrown into the water was the whale's head, which slammed down on the engine of the boat.

“Then I saw the whole stern become inundated with water and I thought, ‘Oh no. We’re going down. We’re going to sink now," Paquette told Seacoastonline. They managed to swim away from the swamped boat in a matter of seconds and became very tired after the initial "energy and adrenaline" wore off.

"It's been an emotional day," Paquette said.

The men stayed in the Yagers' boat for about 15 minutes, then the brothers dropped them off at a nearby friend's vessel before the Coast Guard arrived, according to Wyatt Yager. Paquette and Kenney were transported to Great Cove Boat Club in Eliot, Maine, after the breach, the two fishermen said.

Both men were in the water for less than two minutes before they were rescued, with 19-year-old Wyatt and 16-year-old Colin stepping in to help.  

"We’re glad they took such quick action," Paquette said. "They didn’t even think about it. We’re really grateful to both of them."

Internet reacts, exchanges memes

While the whale seemed to have made a pretty big splash, Colin Yager’s reaction to the “breach” has inadvertently caused the most attention. 

Multiple people have commented on Colin’s reaction, pointing out how quickly his instincts kicked in.

“Kid's like ‘I want to go home now,’" one user wrote. Another said: “That kid had the right idea lol turned around and was ready to book it.”

A user named Daisy Evans wrote that the “incredible scene” was the result of “unfortunate timing,” pointing to the way the whale was breaching under a school of baitfish next to the boat.

“You can actually see dozens of fish pouring out of its mouth as it impacts the boat. The whale was not attacking,” she wrote. 

Contributing: Ian Lenahan; Portsmouth Herald