Group of Sailors Waited 9 Hours for Rescue After Their Boat Was Rammed by a Whale

A group of four experienced a startling surprise when the ship they were sailing to French Polynesia hit a whale and began to sink.

Rick Rodriguez told TODAY that he and three of his friends were relaxing on his sailboat and eating pizza when something rammed into the boat, damaging the propeller.

“The whole boat shook,” he said. “It sounded like something broke and we immediately looked to the side and we saw a really big whale bleeding.”

Rodriguez later recounted the startling incident in an Instagram post.

“…on our way to French Polynesia, a 3100nm, 20-22 day passage, we were hit by a whale.” he wrote, “It opened up multiple holes / cracks near the stern of the boat and the water was up to the floorboards within about 30 seconds. Maybe less.”

The Washington Post reported that Rodriguez texted a friend, Tommy Joyce, and explained what had happened.

“Tommy this isn’t a joke.” he said, “We hit a whale and the ship went down.”

Luckily, Joyce sought help for his friends via Facebook boat-watching groups and was able to arrange assistance for his friends, per TODAY. Ultimately, the group had to wait roughly nine hours for help to arrive.

The captain of a nearby boat, Geoff Stone, told the outlet he was about an hour and a half away from the sinking ship.

Rodriguez was saddened to lose his boat — which he described as “my refuge, my rock, the one place I could be where I felt myself … my friend” — and, although, he had developed “a temporary mistrust in the ocean,” he is grateful he and his friends survived the ordeal.

“We were all smiles for making it out of that situation alive and rescued.” he wrote. “The number one goal was met.” However, he says his love of the ocean remains intact.

“But I’m quickly realizing I’m still the same person. I often think about the whale who likely lost its life, but is hopefully ok. Im not sure what my next move will be. But my attraction to the sea hasn’t been shaken,” he wrote.