https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Spirit/Freefalling-Whale-Creates-3m-Wave/m-p/631348#M189353 <P>A family fishing off the Gold Coast caught sight of much more than they were expecting when a whale launched itself from the water and splashed back down beside them.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P><IMG title="whale.png" src="https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/4402i0D2F21283DCB2793/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&amp;px=-1" alt="whale.png" align="center" border="0" /></P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>The 20-tonne mammal and another whale had been following the family's 7m bowrider as they motored 5km off Main Beach on Sunday.</P><P>But they never expected such a close encounter.</P><P>The family said the freefalling humpback landed just out of arm's reach.</P><P>It created a 3m-high wave and knocked those on board the boat off their feet.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P><A target="_self" href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/08/21/17/21/freefalling-whale-lands-next-to-gold-coast-boat">http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/08/21/17/21/freefalling-whale-lands-next-to-gold-coast-boat</A></P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>Experts say with more and more whales passing along our coast every year, many of them happy to seek human interaction, the chances of a mishap are increasing.</P> Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:15:05 GMT not.a.sock.puppet 2013-08-21T10:15:05Z https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Spirit/Freefalling-Whale-Creates-3m-Wave/m-p/631348#M189353 <P>A family fishing off the Gold Coast caught sight of much more than they were expecting when a whale launched itself from the water and splashed back down beside them.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P><IMG title="whale.png" src="https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/4402i0D2F21283DCB2793/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&amp;px=-1" alt="whale.png" align="center" border="0" /></P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>The 20-tonne mammal and another whale had been following the family's 7m bowrider as they motored 5km off Main Beach on Sunday.</P><P>But they never expected such a close encounter.</P><P>The family said the freefalling humpback landed just out of arm's reach.</P><P>It created a 3m-high wave and knocked those on board the boat off their feet.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P><A target="_self" href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/08/21/17/21/freefalling-whale-lands-next-to-gold-coast-boat">http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/08/21/17/21/freefalling-whale-lands-next-to-gold-coast-boat</A></P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>Experts say with more and more whales passing along our coast every year, many of them happy to seek human interaction, the chances of a mishap are increasing.</P> Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:15:05 GMT https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Spirit/Freefalling-Whale-Creates-3m-Wave/m-p/631348#M189353 not.a.sock.puppet 2013-08-21T10:15:05Z https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Spirit/Freefalling-Whale-Creates-3m-Wave/m-p/631364#M189354 <P><IMG title="blubberin.png" src="https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/4404i80675D8481CA88DC/image-size/large?v=mpbl-1&amp;px=-1" alt="blubberin.png" align="center" border="0" /></P> Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:23:04 GMT https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Community-Spirit/Freefalling-Whale-Creates-3m-Wave/m-p/631364#M189354 not.a.sock.puppet 2013-08-21T10:23:04Z