A video has been shared of the shocking moment a windsurfer crashed into a humpback whale.
Footage of the incident shows Jason Breen gliding through the water as he holds onto the boom.
The 56-year-old was surfing while using a waterproof camera to film his experience.
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Seconds into the clip, a humpback whale appears as if from nowhere and crashes into Jason and his sail.
The wind surfer falls into the ocean with the whale.
The whole thing was caught on camera in shocking footage that has racked up 14.2m views and 278,000 likes on Instagram.
“It was a beautiful sunny day, with a bit of wind, just what we like,” Jason told Whats the Jam.
“I went out with a couple of friends at about 9am and got straight in the water.
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“Got about 200m off the beach then turned round to come back in, and that’s when it happened.
“To my right side I saw a massive shadow in the water.
“I knew it was a whale straight away because of the sheer size of it – I knew it wasn’t a dolphin or a shark, it was just too big.
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“As it started to come out the water, it got bigger and bigger until I looked up and all I could see was a whale above my head.
“From there, when whales come out they go breach so they turn on their top, hitting me directly on my chest and head.”
Jason was at Newport Beach in Sydney, Australia, when the incident took place.
The whale took him underwater with it, dragging him by his leash.
He said: “I was underwater for about 14 seconds and to be honest I was ready to give up.
“But all of a sudden I felt my leg leash snap which allowed me to get back to the surface.
“I got back up, got onto my board and being very relieved got out the water.
“All I’ve had is a sore shoulder.
“The whale also did swim off unharmed.”
The experience took place last month but it hasn’t impacted Jason’s love of the ocean.
He said: “I still go in the ocean every day.
“But I have lost that calm tranquil feeling for it.
“Overtime I think it’ll get better.
“My happy calm place isn’t the same but as long as I’m close to water I’m happy.
“That is their home and we have to remember that we’re privileged enough to share it with them.”
Social media users have been left shocked.
Jim said: “A whole freaking ocean…and that thing hits a bulls eye!”
Hailey added: “Bro there was a whole ocean for him to play in. That was definitely personal.”
Pat said: “This was equally terrifying and incredible.”
Liam joked: “I hope you apologised and gave him your insurance details.”
Karl commented: “Use your turn signals!”
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