All Aboard ! A WHALE Lands on Deck

(July 21) -- A South African couple have a whale of a story to tell after a whale apparently leaped out of the water and landed on their yacht.

Photos show the massive creature breaching over and plopped on Paloma Werner and Ralph Mothes' 32-foot-boat.

"We'd spotted it about 100 meters away and thought that was the end of it," Werner, 50, said, according to the New York Daily News. "We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge." 

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No one was hurt in Sunday's reported encounter off Cape Town, but officials in South Africa are investigating reports that Werner and Mothes may have antagonized the endangered Southern right whale, according to theCape Argus Independent'sonline edition.

Alan Boyd, the Department of Environmental Affairs manager for marine-protected areas and protected marine species, told the publication that some witnesses said Werner and Mothes had approached the creature, which is illegal. But Werner says that's not what happened.

"The whale approached us," Werner said in an email to AOL News today. She said she thought the whale would go under the boat. 

"He was just having fun," she said, according to the Daily News. "They have very poor eyesight, and obviously if they're breaching, visibility is very poor. The whale did not intend to attack us."

According to the paper, photographs of the encounter were taken by tourists from Botswana.

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The Whale and the Sailboat

A 10-meter-long Southern right whale breached in Granger Bay off Cape Town in South Africa on Sunday and landed on a yacht, breaking the steel mast and leaving blubber behind before sailing away. The boat belongs to Paloma Werner and her partner, Ralph Mothes, of Cape Town Sailing Academy. No one was hurt in the incident.

The Whale and the Sailboat

The 32-foot-boat sustained significant damage after the whale inadvertently belly flopped on top of it. Mothes told the Cape Argus Independent that he is working on the repairs and that he hopes the Cape Town Sailing Academy can continue to operate.

The Whale and the Sailboat

The whale returns to the deep after his out-of-water adventure. Alan Boyd, the Department of Environmental Affairs manager for marine-protected areas and protected marine species, told the Cape Argus Independent that witnesses claim they saw Werner and Mothes approach the whale, which is illegal. Officials are investigating.

The Whale and the Sailboat

Werner and Mothes say the whale approached the yacht, seen here on its return to dock. Mothes estimates that it will take three weeks to get The Intrepid back in ship-shape.

The Whale and the Sailboat

"The good news is that we are all OK, the whale is feeling somewhat bruised but otherwise unhurt," the couple said in a statement released on the sailing academy's website. "Both Paloma and I are indeed lucky to be alive."

The Whale and the Sailboat

Mothes, 59, told the Independent that the boat's mast was severely damaged and that he was working to make repairs so their Cape Town Sailing Academy could continue to operate.

"We weren't insured, but I don't think it would have been covered anyway. It would probably be considered an act of God," he said.

A statement on the academy's website recounted the biblical-sounding tale.

"The good news is that we are all OK, the whale is feeling somewhat bruised but otherwise unhurt," the couple wrote. "Both Paloma and I are indeed lucky to be alive." They said the boat should be up and running again in about three weeks.

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