Whale appears to fly during spectacular breaching event

A spirited humpback whale calf thrilled boaters Saturday by launching completely out of the water in Australia’s Hervey Bay.

But nearly as impressive is that Capt. Peter Lynch managed to capture a sharp photo sequence of the extraordinary event while piloting the Blue Dolphin Marine Tours vessel.

“I have seen a calf clear the water before, but I was never lucky enough to be camera-ready because I skipper the vessel at the same time,” Lynch, owner of the tour company, told For The Win Outdoors. “So these photos were taken while I was balancing on one leg at the helm and the other foot controlling the wheel and the throttles.”

Humpback whales are famous breaching but they rarely leap entirely clear of the water because of their immense size. (Adult humpback whales can weigh more than 50 tons.)

Such feats almost always involve smaller calves.

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“Of course the guests loved seeing the calf breach,” Lynch said. “Mum also did one big effort but didn’t clear the water like the calf did. It was afterwards when showing guests the photos off the camera [that] we realized how much air the calf got.”

Humpback whales are found off Queensland from June to November. Hervey Bay is one of Australia’s premier whale-watching destinations.