Clark Scott was fishing off a beach in Swampscott when a whale breached the surface right beside him. And NBC10 Boston photojournalist Mark Garfinkel captured it all.
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A whale was spotted swimming off the coast of Swampscott and Lynn, Massachusetts, on Monday, giving quite a show as it breached just feet from a fisherman.
“I could almost touch him. He was you know within 20 feet of me," said Clark Scott, who lives in Swampscott.
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Early Monday morning, NBC10 Boston's Sky Ranger helicopter caught footage of the whale passing by King's Beach. Scientists with the New England Aquarium later confirmed it was a humpback whale. Scott got an intimate look.
“I was just fishing minding my own business and I heard him breathe out right behind me.”
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NBC10 Boston photojournalist Mark Garfinkel captured the moment it breached next to Scott.
“I spun around and he swam. Literally I could see every spot on his back as he swam by," Scott said. “And then he disturbed a whole bunch of bait fish which all jumped out of the water like.”
Clark – an avid fisher -- was in his 12-and-a-half-foot kayak. He decided to follow the whale along as it headed into Nahant Bay.
“He was fast. I have an electric motor on my kayak so I can zip along and he just went racing past me.”
“Eventually I lost track of him but it was an amazing experience.”
And like every fisherman worth his salt, Clark is already telling the story to his wife and kids who are away overseas.
“She said how was the fishing? and I said not very good but I did see a whale”
