It’s a moment Rainer Schimpf will never forget, as a fun day with friends suddenly became a life or death situation.

“It got dark and I felt some pressure on my hip,” recalls Schimpf. “And once I felt the pressure, I instantly knew a whale had gripped me.”

51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team documenting a sardine run off the coast of South Africa when he found himself inside the jaws of a Bryde’s Whale. 

The whale can grow to 50 feet and weigh 20 tons. Schimpf’s wet suit the only barrier between his flesh and the whale’s jaws.

“It happened extremely fast and from being on the surface and observing something, I became the inside man and suddenly was inside a whale. I’m sure it was a surprise for the whale as well,” he said.

This is far from the first close call with a whale. Last year a whale capsized a 20-foot fishing boat, launching the two men aboard in the Atlantic off the Jersey Shore.

“It was an interesting experience for me but truly nothing I want to do again,” Schimpf said. 
“I don’t think I had a whale of some time. I now have the inside of a whale which nobody else has.”