Whale beaches itself near Raritan Yacht Club

The kids in the summer sailing camp at Raritan Yacht Club must have had the shock of a lifetime when a black fin appeared in the moored fleet close to the club. As it turned out it was a whale that had sadly repeatedly tried to beach itself. The shots below on the beach are 100 yards from my boat. From what I can gather the folks on the beach were successful in getting the whale back into the water but it then swam up the Raritan River and away from the sea. The whale fatally beached itself again later that day one last time :(

Here is how this was reported on mycentralnewjersey.com

 

UPDATE: Whale spotted swimming near Perth Amboy beaches itself

PERTH AMBOY — A small whale has washed ashore in the city after spending hours Monday roaming the Raritan Bay and Raritan River, authorities and a witness said. The 15- to 20-foot pilot whale turned up around 7 p.m. Monday, beaching itself near Sadowsky Parkway and Catalpa Avenue and drawing crowds of onlookers, said Kim Vasquez, a city resident at the scene. She said firefighters were wetting the mammal as they waited for marine rescuers to arrive. Initially reported to be a dolphin, the whale was first spotted around 1:30 p.m. in the waters between Perth Amboy and Staten Island, Perth Amboy Fire Chief David Volk said. Four civilians from Staten Island saw it stranded on a sand bar off the island's Wards Point section, and came over to push it back into the water. That's when a crew on Perth Amboy's Marine 5 fire boat saw it swimming in the bay, Volk said.

  http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090817/NEWS/90817051/1003/newsfront/UPDATE++Whale+spotted+swimming+near+Perth+Amboy+beaches+itself