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Bad pun for a bad situation. I gotta feel for both parties in this collision, that must have smarted on the receiving end.
Order of Kilopi
LINK
Bad pun for a bad situation. I gotta feel for both parties in this collision, that must have smarted on the receiving end.
Banned
Ouch, that poor whale. I bet that stung for a few days.
I'm glad no one was seriously hurt. Makes for a great story 5 years down the road, though. :wink:
Order of Kilopi
Ouch!
...from a recent collision report in Hawaii (left column):
"... the [humpback] whales, some weighing 30 to 40 tons, might be sleeping for 30 to 40 minutes and suddenly surface, becoming "moving reefs" to vessels. He said a fast vessel could also hurt whale calves who must surface more frequently for air..."
Established Member
Those carbon-fiber eggshells aren't exactly massive; even still it's a fitting testament to the size and power of the great whales. One broken boat; a bunch of shaken sailors, and one slightly bruised whale - good story material!
Banned
Lump Back Whale
Order of Kilopi
Yeahbut!Originally Posted by Staiduk
Those keel weights weigh several tons!
In the words of the late, great John Candy (In Space Balls) ... "That's gonna leave a mark"!
Established Member
Several tons? How much would you hurt if you hit something weighing 20 pounds at a walking pace? Especially if you were protected by VERY thick fat? That whale was probably wondering for a moment, "What wazzat?" and then went on its fishy way without another thought.
Order of Kilopi
IIRC, keel weights tend to be kinda torpedo shaped, so they don't enhance drag underwater, meaning, its got something of bullet nose to it. I'd be willing to be that thing whacking that whale upside the back kinda smarted.
And ten knots is no walking pace, especially when its got the full weight of the boat, keel and all, behind it.
Established Member
No; it's more like a quick jog - around 12mph. It probably hit hard enough for the whale to go "Yo, Gomer! Watch where yer goin'!" - not much else. IIRC Rights are protected - as Maddad mentioned - by around 3 feet of blubber - very dense fat. Unless the object hitting is sharp enough to break the skin - such as a boat propeller - it's not going to do much.IIRC, keel weights tend to be kinda torpedo shaped, so they don't enhance drag underwater, meaning, its got something of bullet nose to it. I'd be willing to be that thing whacking that whale upside the back kinda smarted.
And ten knots is no walking pace, especially when its got the full weight of the boat, keel and all, behind it.
Probably be around the same relative force of a person being hit by a flying chihuahua.
Established Member
#-o :P =D> =D> =D>
Order of Kilopi
Well If you are really fat and you run into somthing, I'm guessing it hurts as much as a slim person... I mean you have blood veacells and nevies thingamabobs in oyur skin/fat as well....
Order of Kilopi
Fat whales don't lack willpower!
Banned
You can probably compare whale's blubber to a fat man with a big beer belly. Think about punching a fat man with a big beer belly in the stomach, and then punching a thin man with a regular flat stomach. I am guessing the thin man is going to go down immediately. I am guessing the fat man will just laugh at you as he watches you run away. :wink:
Established Member
I don't think I'd go down immediately.
Established Member
=D>
That qoute, along with "You're gonna feel that in the morning!" are spoken often aboard the boat while racing in the Summer!
We were motoring South along the coast of Wisconsin a few years back. Knowing how rocky the coast is, we were over a mile out from shore. Regardless, we suddenly slammed into an underwater rock, going from 7.5 knots to zero in an instant. We were all thrown forward hard, me into the doghouse (raised part of the cabin). The chest cooler was under the ladder leading into the cabin. It ripped the bolts right out of the floor just like a football tackler. No immediate leaks, but several stress fractures to the ribs of the hull. Had to dry dock for a month while they were fixed.
Luckily, nothing but bruises for the crew. . . Still, not a good feeling!!! #-o
Order of Kilopi
Flat bellies still know how to find and use those muscles to take the punch.I don't think I'd go down immediately.
(unless it is a surprise attack of course)
Established Member
You are thinking of the human scale, not the whale's scale. If he's ten times as long as you are, then ten knots to him is like one knot to you. He got hit at even less than a walking pace, for him. If he could walk :wink:
*L*
Order of Kilopi
Another whale maneuver:
Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.
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