Watch: 55-year-old windsurfer survives after getting slammed by whale

Captured on the surfer's GoPro camera, the moment has gone viral

Trends Desk

Published: Fri 27 Oct 2023, 4:14 PM

It was a regular day for Newport resident Jason Breen, fondly called ‘Jaws’, when he was windsurfing on the Mona Vale beach in Australia. However, his regular windsurfing turned into a major adventure when a whale leapt out of the water and collided with him.

This strange moment was captured on the 55-year-old windsurfer’s GoPro camera. Since then, this clip has gone viral.

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While speaking about his lucky escape with Today Show Australia, Breen said that he noticed the whale while he was surfing but did not think much of it. However, the whale soon jumped out of the water and collided with him. A part of the mammal hit him and got tangled with his foil board and the leg rope.

The whale then dragged him around 20 to 30 feet below the water. Fortunately, the ropes broke and Breen was able to swim to the surface. Thanking his luck, he recalled, "Luckily, I felt the leash break and from there I got released from under the whale's body and was able to come to the surface and thank my lucky stars that something that's not supposed to break broke."

Shockingly, this whole moment was caught on Breen's GoPro which remained attached to his body.

Jason Breen believes that he was hit by a whale calf because this whale’s skin surface was smooth, while fully grown whales have barnacles on their skin. If he were hit by a whale with barnacles then his skin “would have been ripped apart,” the report added.

Breen added that no one believed him when he reached the beach and said, “I told my mates when I came in and they went, 'No way, you're talking it up, Jaws is telling a story', but when I showed them the footage that's when they realised."

Commenting on Breen's stunning GoPro footage, a user wrote, “Unreal! What are the chances of that happening? Glad you and the whale are okay.”

Another wrote, “And just when you thought wing foiling couldn’t get any better. Such a ride brother. Just giggling about this one."

A user jokingly asked him to buy a lottery ticket and remarked, “Completely insane that this happened to you. Go buy a lottery ticket, it must be a lucky day!"

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