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Whale watchers miss the boat on epic breach

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[Photo by J P Goodridge via Whale Watching Sydney Facebook page]

The old saying goes: “Life happens when you’re making plans.” Well, a group of whale watchers in Sydney, Australia who were making plans to see some of the giant mammals missed a spectacular sight as a result of looking the other way.

Photographer JP Goodridge captured the moment, as a giant humpback whale was breaching in the ocean. To the right of the magnificent creature is a boat of tourists, looking actively in the opposite direction.

“Not often you get a Humpback breach so close to a boat. This one was only a few meters away from the unsuspecting observers on the little boat,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “The guys on the boat were watching some other activity to the right, then Boom to the left.”

He goes on to explain that the boat was floating with the engine in neutral as the whales were observed passing by. He adds that it’s a rule for boats to be a minimum of 100 m away from any passing whale and 300 m if they have a calf with them.

In the comments section of their Facebook page, Whale Watching Sydney admits that “everyone on that boat is looking the wrong way.”

Commenter Peter Gibson had one theory: “Probably looking at Pokemon.”