![Three whales caught on video performing an almost perfectly synchronous, extremely rare full breach off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2023. [Screenshot/AP/Robert Addie]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Screenshot-2023-07-27-235153-e1690516582466.jpg "Three whales caught on video performing an almost perfectly synchronous, extremely rare full breach off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2023. [Screenshot/AP/Robert Addie]")
A New Hampshire man on a fishing trip with his three daughters caught video of three whales breaching the ocean in near-perfect synchronization, The Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday.
Robert Addie, 59, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was on a tuna fishing trip with his three daughters off Cape Cod when the three humpback whales performed almost synchronous full breaches, leaping out of the ocean and spinning mid-air and then plunging back in, according to a video captured by Addie and shared by The AP. He reportedly had tried without success to film some humpback whales about 300 yards (275 meters) from their boat, when the rare “whale ballet” occurred.
“I’ve seen a lot of whales,” Addie said, alluding to his decades-long previous work experience as a commercial fisherman in Massachusetts and Alaska, but “I’ve certainly never seen three breach,” he added, according to The AP. (RELATED: Mass Stranding Leaves 55-Whale Pod Dead, Survivors To Be Euthanized)
A New Hampshire man celebrating his birthday on the ocean captured video of something so rare that even marine scientists are jealous — three humpback whales leaping from the water in near perfect unison.
Details: https://t.co/CSN2Uol1MP
📹: AP and Robert Addie pic.twitter.com/o82Rn21Q9i
— Star-Advertiser (@StarAdvertiser) July 27, 2023
He and his daughters were also celebrating his safe return from a humanitarian aid trip to Kherson, Ukraine, where he said he came under “heavy artillery fire,” The AP noted.
Addie’s video also showed a juvenile whale performing the breach moments after the three adult whales had performed theirs. Some whale experts reportedly told Addie that whales engaged in breaching possibly to shed parasites from their bodies or to aid digestion. However, observing the juvenile whale’s performance, Addie said, “I have a feeling that maybe they were teaching, or training,” adding that the synchronized spin of the adult whales was “unheard of,” according to the shared video footage.
The sighting made Addie the envy of some of the whale experts, who said to him that they had never witnessed such an event, The AP noted.
“It’s a gift from God, if you ask me,” he reportedly said.