That is like...THE single greatest picture I've ever seen. I mean... "Man, Captain Ahab's gonna be tiiiiiicked..." But dude, seriously, they actually snapped a shot of the whale BEFORE it crushed the yacht. That's like, so freakin' sweet awesomesauce!!! It's like a once in a lifetime photo-op. Never seen anything like it. And then the thing just SWAM AWAY.
That first picture looked fake to me, the guy wasn't even reacting. Then I clicked on it and saw the damage. Damn...
Ta'dah! What are odds, eh? 40 ton whale breaching and landing on your boat. Thats something you really don't see everyday.
I'd rather see that happen to the whalers' boats, but what do I know.. Needless to say, an awesome picture!
I'm with you in this day and age neither Japanese nor any one else needs to hunt whales for food. and that research angle is just a cover.