Two fishermen had an unexpected close call with two humpback whales while fishing off the coast of New Hampshire on Tuesday, an encounter that was captured on video.

Two 60-foot humpback whales breached just 40 feet away from where Captain Dale Sprague and his first mate, Matt Hamilton, were fishing from Sprague’s boat, according to The Boston Globe .

“Two of them turned on their sides, just started this massive flapping of their big fin,” Sprague told the Globe . “I think whales personally love attention.”

The whales sprung out of the water, first 200 yards away from the boat, then much closer. One plunged back under the surface with a tremendous splash just a few dozen yards away, then headed toward the boat, video shows.

“Holy [expletive]!” Sprague yelled in a video he took. “

See Full Page