At first the sailors thought the splashing and spray was being caused by a pesky jetskier, but then they glimpsed a large, dark fin and realised they were having a close encounter with a much rarer creature – a humpback whale.
The whale was spotted by a couple sailing 2 miles off the Cornish coast and is causing a ripple of joy among conservationists because the mammals, which can grow up to 18 metres long, are rarely seen off the far south-west of England and there is no previous modern record of one in the area at this time of year.
