Whale 'seemed sorry for wrecking my boat'

A SAILOR whose yacht was destroyed by a humpback whale off New Zealand said he had got a good "vibe" from the giant mammal and thought it was trying to say sorry, it was reported yesterday.

Lindsay Wright was sailing his brand new 30ft trimaran, named Loose Goose, about 80 nautical miles off the west coast of the North Island on Tuesday when it was hit by the whale.

Mr Wright, who was asleep at the time, said he was awakened by a loud noise and rushed up on to the deck to find himself staring at a whale's head no more than a foot away.

"I got good vibes off him. I thought he was trying to say, 'Sorry mate, I didn't mean to'," Mr Wright told New Zealand television.

He said the whale, a large male in a pod of about six humpbacks, had hit his yacht with its tail, opening a large hole in one of the boats's three hulls.

"When I first saw him, I thought he had come back for the coup de grce," Mr Wright said.

He told how he activated a distress beacon as his yacht took on water and lost electrical power.

He was winched to safety aboard a rescue helicopter about five hours later, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.