I’m a lobster diver who recently survived being inside of a whale. AMA!

Are you disappointed you didn't get shot out his blowhole like in the cartoons?

That probably would have hurt a lot more.

(Speaking as Jacob, this would have been epic.)

What actor do you want play you in the future Netflix movie?

Matt Damon.

(His wife says Sean Penn.)

Was its tongue smooth like a dogs or scratchy like a cats?

I was in a dry suit, couldn’t really tell. Also, the mouth was filled with water.

What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Edit: thanks for the awards everyone! The one day I actually leave the house and shit blows up lol

This. No doubt. Plane crash is in a close second.

1. How did you get out?
2. Were you able to see anything?
3. What bad things could have happened inside which didn't happen fortunately?

1. Eventually the whale managed to dislodge me by moving its head and tounge, I think.

2. Nope. Completely dark.

3. I could’ve suffocated, or drowned if I didn’t retrieve my regulator in time.

So you lost your regulator when it attempted to swallow you?

I lost hold of it for a moment. (Also, speaking as Jacob, it's a common misconception that he was swallowed or attempted to. He is adamant that the whale would not have been able to actually swallow him.)

What was your ‘last thought’ when you realised you’d been eaten by a whale?

My wife and kids.

Which kid is your favorite?

He laughed when I asked him this.

Did you see the whale coming and just couldn’t get out of the way or did it sneak up on you?

Not at all. Came up behind from me, felt it close down, then boom.

What's the most interesting thing you've seen while under the surface diving for lobsters?

A dead body.

Damn! Did you have to go through the process of reporting it to authorities or anything like that?

Yep. It was a missing person, an active case. Stumbled upon it and got it found.

What is the reaction when you get to the hospital to get checked out and the doctors ask you what happened?

I said “I got stuck in a whale’s mouth.” All the nurses and doctors at the hospital came to see me and ask me about it. One nurse came in with a notepad, she asked me for lottery numbers!

What were the injuries sustained?

Soft tissue damage, nothing serious. Thankfully.

What do you think caused the soft tissue damage, and why do you think your legs were hurt?

Blunt force of the whale's mouth, I could feel it clamping down on my legs. Also I got pretty banged up while it was trying to force me out.

Did the whale have a gag reflex? Was it making a noise while trying to spit you out?

It didn't SPIT me out, rather I think it forced me out by movement and using its tounge.

I’m super curious about the sounds he heard!

Swishing of water and the rapid movement of the whale. No audible cries of the whale.

Did you find any lobsters in there?

Sadly, no.

Did the whale swim away with you for a bit, or spit you out near your dive site?

I could feel it swimming around, but it spit me out not too far from where my boat was with my mate.

Jacob, how do you plan to top your father’s story?

Swallowing a whale

How long were you trapped? Were you concerned at any point that you might die?

Trapped for about 30-40 seconds. Yes, I was almost convinced I was going to die that day.

Jacob do you want to play some smash after you are done helping your dad do the ama?

Only if I get to play Steve.

Is it true you survived a plane crash in Costa Rica?

Yes. A while back

Do you have a name for this whale? Has anyone slapped an awesome nickname on you yet?

No name for the whale yet. But it's pretty obvious that many people are calling me "Jonah". now.

To your knowledge, was the whale injured in the process of your escape?

The whale turned out completely ok. Maybe a bit annoyed.

Did you know immediately that you were in a wales mouth?

At first, I thought maybe a shark. But due to the lack of teeth and the size of it I soon realized that what I was in was a whale.

Yo Jacob, tell your dad he's a fox

He already knows.

Do you commonly see whales while diving? Is it unusual that they get close to divers?

Very rarely. And yes, usually they like to keep a good distance from us.

After the whale dislodged you, did you get to see it swim away? Or was it too hectic.

All I saw was whitewater crashing around me, and the tail of it, disappearing into the water.

Did you try to communicate with the whale?

I don't think it would have been in the mood to converse with me at the time.

Is this an elaborate your mom joke?

Yo mama sends her regards.

Has it deterred you at all from your job, or is it business as usual for yourself?

(Speaking as Jacob, I don't even need to ask this. I have no doubt in my mind he will do everything he can to keep diving, it's his life and passion.)

Is diving a family thing? do you(jacob) dive with ur dad as well?

(He inspired me to get my scuba certification. I love diving with my dad.)

How long were you in there?

Thirty to forty seconds is my estimate.

Longest 30 seconds of your life I bet

Easily.

Even the 10s of seconds as that small plane was coming down into the jungle?

In that plane crash, I was flung out of the plane before it even hit the ground. Probably a much shorter timeframe.

How the hell does one survive a plane crash that you are ejected out of the plane before it actually crashes … damn.

(Speaking as Jacob, I'm just as surprised as you are.)

How do you feel about all the attention and news stories?

(He is very overwhelmed. He’s a simple dude.)

How did the world come to know? Did you guys reach out to the media or did somebody from the hospital tell them?

No clue. Original article was a small newspaper, cape cod times. Next thing I knew, news stations were in my driveway.

Could you feel the pressure change as the whale surfaced?

Felt nothing but my own body crashing against the water. The pressure was the least of my concerns.

Jacob - what was your reaction when you were told what happened to your dad? Did you believe them?

I got pulled out of Spanish class and got told there was an accident, whale related. Went the rest of the day without further knowledge. Really nerve wracking.

Why did it “swallow” you? Was it just looking for krill?

Yes. It likely accidentally ran into me while scouring for krill.

Have you been invited on the talk shows yet?

Many.

Would you rather fight a whale-sized lobster or 100 lobster-sized whales?

I could probably take a whale sized lobster.

what advice do you have for anyone on reddit who might have to take a whale sized lobster without your expertise and experience?

Grab em on the back so they can’t snip you

What is the feeling of being ingested most comparable to? Is it like being crushed by a couch or being pummeled on all sides? Were you thinking "oh great I'm the guy who gets eaten today" or is it too tough to process what's happening until it's over?

It was full of water, and I could feel the muscles of its mouth convulsing around me, it was a really strange feeling to be sure. Can't draw a meaningful comparison.

How did the inside look???

Pitch black, couldn’t see anything at all.

How did it feel?

Felt the whales mouth and muscles convulsing around me, felt really strange.

What happened after you got out? Were you able to swim to safety or did someone need to help you?

My mate pulled me out of the water back onto the boat, thankful he was there.

How did you escape?

The whale eventually got me out.

Did you always know you could escape? Did you think you were going to die? What was going through your mind before you realized you could make it out safely, or at all. Did you kill the whale?

1. At first, I was focused on getting my regulator back in my mouth so I could breathe. Then I thought MAYBE I could get out of this.

2. Definitely. I thought that was it, I was done.

3. My head was just spinning, I could feel the whale swimming around and I was just thinking that there was almost no way out of this.

4. The whale is alive and well.

Was being in there warmer than the seawater outside?

Hard to differentiate temperature (I was wearing a dry-suit).

I was reading in the other thread about a plane crash you were involved in. Would you be willing to delve into that experience and how it impacted you, your life, and worldview? Thanks for doing this!

(I don't usually like to ask my dad about the plane crash very often. What he's told me when I ask him is that he was just astounded to be alive, if he was rescued even a day later he wouldn't be here today. He has a large scar on his back. This all happened before I was born, but I'm sure it shaped him into the brave and passionate man he is today.)

Are you related to the Provincetown artist Cynthia Packard?

Yes. And my grandma is Anne Packard.

She is Jacob‘s grandma, presumably?

Yes I am speaking as Jacob right now.

It must have been seriously disorientating, how did you manage to keep your mask and breathing apparatus on?

Didn't have any trouble with my mask. Although I did lose my regulator for a second, thankfully got it back quickly.

What is your second craziest diving story?

I read in the article that you see a lot of white sharks, have you ever had a close encounter with them or do they generally steer clear?

Don't encounter them often. A while back, I encountered the corpse of a missing person while diving, that is definitely up there with the crazy stories.

Were you running an open circuit or closed circuit? Most marine life I see stays the hell away from bubbles

Open circuit, I've always dived that way. So my mate on the boat can follow my bubbles and track where I'm going.

Do you plan on continuing your job or just diving in general? This must of been a traumatic event for you.

I’m getting back in the water as soon as possible. This job is my life, wouldn’t stop for anything.

The article talks about you maybe being the last lobster diver in your area. Is that true? Why is that? And my biggest curiosity about the job, does it pay well?

It's a really tough and specialized business, trapping is a lot easier for the average person. It pays alright, but it can depend on the season.

How much freedom of movement did you have inside the whale? Where did you feel the pressure on your body? How strong was the pressure from the jaw? Not sure how to formulate those questions properly haha

1. Little to none.
2. Not so much pressure, rather I could feel the whale swimming around trying to dislodge me.
3. Strong enough to mess up my legs pretty bad.

Did anyone see it happen? If so, what did they have to say about it?

My mate and my buddy who's a charter fisher, Joe, and his full charter boat. They said they saw a bunch of commotion in the water, then saw the whale's tail surfacing, and me returning into the water.

Were you angry while you were inside the whale's mouth? Like, g'damn it the universe is really unfair.

Not anger. More like hopelessness

What type of whale?

Humpback whale.

Is your son Jacob a funny-looking wooden character?

Hey. I may be funny looking, but I’m definitely not wooden.

How did your dad like the idea of doing an AMA? What do you think of this bonding experience between you guys? (I would love to have done this with Dad)

He had barely any idea what Reddit is. Basically just asked if I could ask him questions for an online message board

Lobster prices are insane right now. You making good money?

Can't complain

Not sure if you're still answering questions. But I'm curious about something. If say, the whale had not pushed you out, or if you had already been unconscious when he did and drowned, what do you think your crewmates would have thought happened to you?

That’s a really good question. One that I don’t know the answer to. Maybe I’d be classified as missing?

Hey Jacob, how are you?

Tired

Where you swallowed feet or head first?

Don't even know. Was gulped before I could even tell what happened.

Are the Jonah jokes as stupid to you as they are to me?

Better to be whale vomit and not whale poop. Welcome back.

I can see where people would get Jonah from. Also, agreed. Much prefer being vomit.

I live near you and do lobster diving in the area. Do you think this whale learned it’s lesson or should I also be worried I might be swallowed alive?

Don’t be worried. This case is so rare that it’s almost non existent

Saw someone else’s post about your dad yesterday! What are some other interesting/extreme sport hobbies or passions does he love doing? :)

Fishing, gardening, cooking, and being outdoors. He's a cool guy

What is it like being a lobster? How are you writing this?

Lobster noises

Is it water filled and roomy in there or did it clamp down on you?

Roomy enough to move my arms around but not much more. My legs were clamped down on, that's what caused my leg injuries

Super excited that this came together! I spent last night watching the episode of “I shouldn’t be alive” that you were in. What crazy stories! I have a few questions not related to this whale incident:

1. How did you get involved in lobster diving?

2. In an article I read that it’s not uncommon to see white sharks while lobster diving, especially in the waters of Cape Cod (I live nearby). Have you encountered one before? Is there any sort of “protection” you carry or system that helps minimize the risk of shark attack?

3. In the plane crash episode, it was said you were living in Costa Rica. What brought you there and how’s you end up in Cape Cod?

Thanks in advance, happy to hear you’re doing well!

1. (He's been lobster diving since before I was born. I think he just likes it.)
2. I've seen a few great whites. There's a shark protection field that minimizes the risk of attack, though.
3. I used to own a fishing business down there. I moved to Cape Cod with my family a while back.

What do you imagine the whales breath smelled like?

Bad.

How did it smell?

You can't smell anything underwater.

Edit: Probably like fish.

What did you see!? What did you smell?!!

I saw absolutely nothing, only felt. Didn't smell anything since the mouth was filled with water, too.