You know, we all have experiences in life that we think of as good or bad, but not many of us have found ourselves inside a whale and somehow lived to tell about it.
Michael Packard, 56, a Massachusetts commercial lobster diver was seriously injured Friday morning when he was caught in the mouth of a humpback whale feeding off Race Point, his sister said.
“I felt this huge bump and everything went dark,” Packard said. “And then I felt around and I realized there was no teeth. And then I realized, ‘Oh my God I’m in a whale’s mouth … and he’s trying to swallow me.'”
I’m not sure what the poor diver did at that point but had I been in this situation, I am sure I would have been concerned.
“Then all of a sudden he went up to the surface and just erupted and started shaking his head. I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water,” he said. “I was free and I just floated there. I couldn’t believe it.”
Fortunately, humpback whales do not appear to favor lobster fishermen.
©2021 Jim Hagarty
