Three Washington friends were hanging out on a boat when something incredibly out of the ordinary happened. What started off as a typical crabbing trip turned into the shock of a lifetime. You’ll be blown away by the very real and scary situation that these young men found themselves in…
20. Boating Trip
Three friends, Steven Sloan, Michael Niccum and Eugene Dight, were off on an aluminum rowboat off the west coast of Anderson Island, Washington. The day was meant to be relaxing and the young men were having a great trip so far.
19. Crab Pot
The men were off crabbing for the day and had caught quite a worthwhile catch. Their day was coming to an end, so the guys wanted to see just how much they had caught. Little did they know that this would start up a commotion.
18. A Noise
While sifting through their crab pots, the guys decided that they had caught enough for the day. They quickly began to pull up the traps. The ropes began to make a loud noise as they rubbed against the boat.
17. Catching Attention
The noise of the ropes rubbing against the boat immediately caught the attention of some nearby animals. Apparently some killer whales were close-by and the sound seemed to startle them.
16. Filming
The three men had already noticed the orcas swimming far away from them in the beginning of their trip. Steven had been filming them from the boat and the men were in awe at the sight of them. However, they never expected what would happen next.
15. Exciting
From far away, the men were pretty excited to see the orcas. It wasn’t intimidating at all to them and they actually began to yell in excitement. Suddenly, however, it started to become obvious that the orcas were moving in a new direction…
14. 50 Yards
The whales were around 50 yards away when the men first noticed them. They were playfully jumping out of the water until the sound of the ropes attracted them toward the boat. Then everything about the experience changed.
13. Attracting Them
“According to Steven, the group believe that the rope being pulled along the side of the boat is what attracted the pod to them, as its distinctive sound disturbed the whales,” the Daily Mail reported. It was at this point the guys realized that they should be getting concerned.
12. Getting Closer
Steve began to notice that the killer whales were getting closer and closer. In the video you can distinctly hear one of the guys saying, “They’re probably coming to check us out.” The men needed to start preparing for the worst…
11. Fearful
As Steve continued to film the whales he began to realize that the situation was getting more serious. He then began to wonder what the whales would do. Would they hurt them? Would they tip them out of the boat?
10. Nervous
“Guys we need to get out of here, it’s coming right at us,” one of the guys shouts in a panic. The whales continued to get closer and closer. That was when the guys really started to panic!
9. Scared
“We need to sit down in the boat. We need to get out of here. It is probably under us. This is really dangerous, I’m scared,” one of the guys says in a nervous tone. At this point the men knew they could no longer avoid the killer whales.
8. Approaching
Suddenly the whales began to slowly approach the aluminum boat. The men begin to scream out “AARRGHH!” as a whale fin is clearly seen popping out of the water right next to them. The men were in complete shock at this point.
7. Circling
The whales began to circle the tiny boat and swim all around. It was then the whales began swimming right underneath the tiny rowboat. The men couldn’t believe what was happening.
6. Surfacing
Once the whales had swam underneath the boat, they quickly began to return to the surface. It was at this point that the men realized what the motive of the orca’s was…
5. No Harm
It was at this point that the men realized that the orca’s meant them no harm. The whales continued to swim around them as Steve caught it all on tape. It seems that they simply wanted to investigate the noise they heard.
4. Swimming Away
Once the whale’s did their investigation, they promptly swam away from the men’s boat. In the video you can hear the men laugh nervously as they realize the situation they just found themselves in.
3. Unexpected
The men were feeling pretty lucky at this point. They were happy that the killer whale’s meant them no harm and were simply heading over to investigate a noise. After all, this was a highly unexpected situation.
2. Joking
“Please don’t attack us,” one of the men said jokingly, as the whales began to swim away. The video footage was then uploaded onto YouTube for everyone to see!
1. Steve’s Written Message
Steve uploaded the amazing footage onto YouTube. In the description area, Steve wrote: “Feel free to laugh at how I respond to a scary situation like this and enjoy the beautiful orcas at the beautiful Anderson Island.”