Now Australian school teacher David Sheridan knows how Jonah felt – or near enough.
As this amazing picture shows, a huge whale suddenly rose up close to the surface as the 42-year-old New South Wales man was riding his kiteboard – a small surfboard suspended beneath a large kite.
Seconds after this photo was snapped remotely by David’s camera, mounted on the kite apparatus, the whale flicked up its tail and gave him an almighty blow on the back of his head.
Because the camera was programmed to take pictures every 10 seconds it missed the moment when the whale struck David – but this incredible shot of the massive creature swimming beneath him is reminder enough of his close encounter.
