Whale tows couple's boat
A FRASER Coast couple had the experience of a lifetime after a whale tangled itself in an anchor rope attached to their boat.
The Urangan husband and wife were fishing off Fraser Island, near the Six Mile mark, when a pod of three humpbacks began circling them.
Penny and Wally Marz were treated to a private show that lasted about 30 minutes as the whales frolicked around them like happy teenagers.
But just as it appeared the pod was about to move off, one became tangled in the anchor rope.
"The boat starting dragging one way and Wal yelled out for me to grab the knife so he could cut the line," Ms Marz said.
"Then it went slack and we thought it must have freed itself. But before we knew it the boat was being dragged in another direction."
Ms Marz said the whale was fighting to free itself for about five minutes before, in a state of panic, her husband managed to cut the rope free.
The two said they had been worried the tangled humpback, which was easily the size of the boat, would drag them under.
Ms Marz said fisheries officers were close by throughout the ordeal after noticing the whales' movements.
She said when the humpback became free and took off, fisheries officers followed the group to ensure they were unharmed.
As for the Marz's, they continued fishing but failed to land anything large enough to take home.
When questioned on his immediate reaction after cutting the rope attached to his anchor and the whale, Mr Marz gave a response typical to a fisherman's hard-luck tale.
"Well I just said, 'gee, that was my good anchor' I had only had it a short time."
