Crewmate Stands By The Story: Lobsterman Really Was Gulped By A Whale

Whales Cape Cod — Humpback whales feed at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Cape Cod near Provincetown.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

June 18, 2021

Updated August 07, 2023

Last week, commercial lobster diver Michael Packard reported his escape from the mouth of a humpback whale off Herring Cove beach in Provincetown. Josiah Mayo, Packard’s mate and driver, witnessed the event, and spoke to Boston Public Radio on Friday to dispel the skeptics who say it didn't happen.

"[Michael] went down on his third dive of the day, and a very short time later, I saw a huge eruption of water, and my heart immediately sank because I thought it was a shark attack," he said. "Shortly after, I saw a humpback whale fluke and head within a whole roiling bunch of bubbles, and suddenly I saw Michael's legs and body shoot out of the water admist the turmoil."

Mayo says he watched as Packard fell back into the water, as the whale disappeared, and then rushed over to rescue him.

"Pulliing over to him and seeing he was mostly intact, we were shocked and frantic, but relieved... he seemed okay, relatively speaking," he said. "I felt disbelief, but relief."

Mayo didn't realize that Packard had been inside the mouth of the whale amidst all the commotion, he said.

"I thought it was just a whale harassing him — it was pretty violent, all the turmoil in the water," he said. "I had no idea until we pulled up and he said 'I was inside the effing mouth.'"

The whale was likely distressed due to Packard being inside the it's mouth, Mayo noted.

"We don't really see whales thrash to the surface like this one did, this was a frantic whale — I think the whale was probably really in distress," he said. "The Dolphin Fleet Whale Watching that runs out of Provincetown apparently tracked the whale leaving the area, and it was breaching the whole time, which probably indicates that it's baleen was messed up from struggling with Michael."

Mayo assumed there would be skeptics once the story went viral, but thinks Packard's experience can't be disputed.

"There had to be skepticism, it's such an unbelievable tale, and we accepted there would be some of it," he said. "But as soon as any of the experts and witnesses came out, not to mention Michael's demeanor, nobody really is going to mess with his testimony."