Woman on whale-watching boat trip calls the police on a group of whales

Elise Solé


Social media is cracking up over — and, in some cases, shaking their heads at — a family member who called 911 to report a group of whales during an outing on a boat.

Darren Lucciana took his family for a boat ride on Washington’s Puget Sound — a popular spot for whale watching — when three humpback whales swam up to their boat. In a video shot by a family member, Lucciana assures his panicked family, “All right, we’re all right, calm down,” while a woman hyperventilates in the background.

“Oh my God, it’s going right under us, you guys!” yells a woman while another is heard sobbing.

“Relax, he’s checking us out … they’re not going to hurt you. Just relax, he’s right under us,” says Lucciana. He adds, “Look at this, you guys, you’ll never see this again.”

“Let’s get out of here!” says a woman. Another declares, “I’m calling 911.”

Lucianna tells his family that the “intelligent” mammal is simply curious and will swim away soon. “Look at that — he’ll rolling!” he exclaims excitedly. “Oh my God, this is amazing — you guys, there’s another one right behind him!”

“Dad, let’s get out of here,” says a nervous male voice, while a woman reaffirms, “I’m calling 911!”

“I’m out at Puget Sound and there are three gray whales right underneath our boat, and I’m afraid that we might get flipped over,” the woman says into the phone. “I’m really scared.”

As the boat begins pulling away and the whales start diving, Lucianna breathes, saying, “That was amazing.” A family member then cries, “Stupid whales! They’re going to kill us.”

A woman makes a second call to 911, explaining that the family has been “quietly watching them for about an hour and they’re underneath our boat right now — all three of them — and it’s really scary. I’m just afraid that if we get tipped over that somebody needs to know where we are.” She also provides the family’s GPS coordinates.

“The worst thing that can happen is that we go for a swim, dude,” the dad protests, adding, “You will never forget that.”

Aside from calling the family “obnoxious” and “ridiculous,” social media commenters noted that the panicked response was like the recurrent 911 calls on people of color.

Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard base in Seattle and the Seattle Police Department tell Yahoo Lifestyle that their respective departments did not receive the family’s calls.

Lucianna did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. The awestruck dad commented on his Facebook post: “Never forget this experience. So glad my boys could witness it.”

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