‘A giant hole’: Family escapes sinking boat after being struck by humpback whale

GUSTAVUS, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - An Alaskan family’s peaceful night at anchor ended with a giant thud, a sinking boat and having to swim to shore in the dark.

“My husband and I were asleep in our sailboat anchored in Glacier Bay, and our 23-year-old kid who was with us on the trip was awake reading when we heard a giant thud, and then the boat just sank,” Tania Lewis said.

According to Lewis, she is no stranger to the area. In fact, she works as a wildlife biologist for Glacier Bay National Park, but not with marine wildlife.

“I spend a lot of time on boats in Glacier Bay getting from point A to point B,” Lewis said. “We’re very familiar.”

Lewis said their night turned into them needing a near-water rescue on July 29.

Around 11:30 p.m., her son — who Lewis said was thankfully awake — heard the noise, and suddenly, before they knew it, the boat started to rapidly sink.

They had no time to grab all their extra supplies in the cabin. They ran over to the dinghy, but it was flipped over.

“When we got into [the dinghy], it was full of water, and it took us a little while to navigate that and finally flip it over,” Lewis said. “That’s how my husband and I got to shore. Meanwhile, our kids swam with the backpack.”

The family was about 130 yards away from shore.

Lewis said they were prepared, and luck was on their side when it came to getting dry wood. But even with a prepared bag, they were not prepared for how fast the boat sank.

“Normally, if we had time — and just even like a couple more minutes — we could have been really comfortable on the beach. But as it was, we had very limited extra clothes and enough emergency equipment to make a fire,” Lewis said.

The family was able to stay at the beach area until rescue crews showed up the next morning.

Crews were able to find the boat and retrieve most of Lewis’ items, except for a few shoes. But the boat, which is from the 1960s, was heavily damaged.

Lewis said she talked to the park whale biologist and they’re pretty certain that the whale was likely chasing fish in the water.

“It was almost unheard of ... super unlikely. We didn’t hear any whales in the area,” Lewis added.

Whale skin samples were collected from the boat, and biologists say they are hoping to be able to identify the whale.

Lewis’ top advice: pack extra layers, know how to build a fire, and carry a communication device, but also just enjoy the beauty of Alaska, even if you get capsized by a whale and stuck on a beach for hours.

“We had a really magical night with the moon and sitting around the fire with family,” Lewis said. “As difficult as it was, I cherish that moment too of enjoying this beautiful place we get to live on its own terms.”