It seemed like Valentine’s Day was going to be just another relaxing day on the water for photographer Michael Fischbach’s family. They went to the Sea of ​​Cortez, hoping to see blue whales. But instead they discovered something that made everyone forget about the purpose of the trip.

Not far from the boat, a huge dark figure lay motionless on the surface of the water.

At first Michael thought it was a dead whale. However, after a few seconds, a faint, intermittent sound of breathing came from the water.

In front of them was a young female humpback whale about nine meters long. She practically couldn’t move. As people approached, it became clear why: the animal was completely entangled in a huge fishing net.

The tackle tightly pinched the pectoral fins, and the heavy net pulled the tail down, about five meters below the surface. Each new breath was given to the whale with great difficulty. If nothing was done, he could have died from suffocation.

Michael immediately contacted rescuers. But it took about an hour for professional help to arrive.

This was too long for the exhausted animal.

The team did not have special equipment to free the whales. They had only a small folding knife with a blade of about three inches and their own hands.

Despite the danger, people decided to try to help.

They carefully approached the animal and began to pull heavy ropes out of the water. Michael used a knife to cut sections of the net, being careful not to injure the whale.

After releasing one of the fins, the unexpected happened.

The frightened animal suddenly rushed forward. Part of the net was still attached to the boat, and the whale was literally dragging the small vessel along.

The boat rushed through the water after the huge animal.

It was reminiscent of the famous sea phenomenon where a whaling boat ends up being towed by a whale.

A few minutes seemed like an eternity. But after about half a mile, the whale began to slow down.

The most amazing thing happened next.

He rose to the surface again and found himself next to the boat, as if giving people the opportunity to continue the rescue.

The rescuers’ arms were already sore, and heavy ropes cut their skin. But there was one last piece of gear that held the animal.

They went back to work.

Michael reached the main rope, which ran near the tail. One wrong move could lead to tragedy, so we had to act as carefully as possible.

Several movements with the knife – and the thick rope finally gave way.

Keith was free.

Everyone expected the animal to disappear into the ocean immediately. But something completely unexpected happened.

The freed whale remained next to the boat.

Over the next hour, he jumped out of the water several times, hitting the surface with his fins and releasing powerful fountains of air. It seemed as if he was expressing his joy in some incredible way.

The rescuers named her Valentina, in honor of Valentine’s Day, which changed their lives forever.

After one last impressive leap, the whale turned around and headed out into the open sea.