Whale sinks yacht in South Pacific, sailors rescued alive 18 hours later

Updated on: October 1, 2026 / 7:14 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

A sperm whale cracked the hull of a yacht sailing in the remote South Pacific, forcing four sailors into a day-and-night fight for survival on the high seas.

Crew members on the 52-foot Tai Tam told AFP on Thursday of their weekend encounter with a pod of sperm whales 250 nautical miles north of tiny Norfolk Island.

"There was sort of a loud thud. The whole boat was pushed sideways," said Australian Jemma Cooper, who was thrown from the steering wheel by the force of the blow.

Not knowing at first what had happened, she noticed a brown discoloration in the water and a sperm whale.

"We looked out to our port side, and there were six to eight, a pod, of whales there. So then it became clear that that's what it was," she told AFP.

Her husband Jeremy Cooper said he was sleeping below deck when the impact woke him.

"It was pretty immediately evident it was very serious," he said.

"All the steering gear was smashed on the starboard side, and there was a significant amount of water coming in," Jeremy told AFP.

At 1 p.m.

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/