Whale Rescue

On the 18th of May 2012 whilst on the way back from a boat trip with Dave Woodcock and his family (which he had purchased in aid of Radio Orkney's Children In Need night) Magnus Woolham spotted the large unmistakable tail of a 40 foot Humpback whale and quickly took the boat over for a closer look. After a few moments it became apparent that the whale was not swimming away from the boat so Magnus Spence donned his snorkelling gear and entered the water to check it was ok. On returning to the boat he explained that the whale had an old creel bush rope stuck in its mouth with six creels attached and was struggling to lift them off the bottom to breath. He quickly changed into his full scuba gear and with fellow diver Jonathan Wheeler (standing by as a rescue diver) he re-entered the water, swam underneath the whale, climbed up the rope and cut the whale free, the rest is history!! The following is the news report that was shown around the world and gave Magnus his first 15 minutes of fame.