Double whale breach a rare sight, wows boat tour in Bay Bulls

People on a boat tour off the coast of Newfoundland were treated to a special sight on Sunday, when two humpback whales breached the water at once.

Sue Bailey, a Canadian Press reporter located in St. John's, had her camera out and hit record just before the whales simultaneously jumped out of the water near Bay Bulls during an O'Brien's Whale and Bird Tour.

The video shows Bailey's friend, Holly Lake, facing the camera just as the two whales break the surface. Viewers can hear Lake cry out when she realized she only caught the tail end of the spectacle.

"And I missed it!" Lake wails.

"The joke was that she has for years tried to see a humpback whale. She'd go out and see nothing, she had no luck at all, so we're out there and had a really good trip, saw a lot of whales, and just as we're leaving to go to Gull Island, boom! They came up right behind her," said Bailey.

Joe O'Brien, captain of the tour boat, said he has never seen a double breach in 30 years on the water, but added it was even more amazing that someone actually caught it on camera.

"It's not super rare, but it is very rare because we don't get a chance to capture it. A breach is so quick, and usually it's when you're not ready that you see a breach," he said.

"Ninety-eight per cent of people never get the picture, either because their camera button was too slow or because they were frozen."

The video has become an internet sensation, making the rounds on media sites.

However, Bailey said the real pleasure from the video is being able to watch it and see her friend's response.

"The reaction has been incredible, but every time I watch it, I just laugh. I still can't believe we saw it," she said.