A pair of end-of-season boat rides ended in an unexpected way Saturday, Oct. 31 near Squirrel Island.

Two local boaters were able to free and save a minke whale that had become caught on a lobster buoy line to the west of the island.

Eric Graves, general manager at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, along with Dan and Theresa Williams, of Dan’s Auto Repair Service in Boothbay, rescued a minke whale that had been caught in a pot buoy's line, and was struggling to remain above water on Halloween.

Graves said he, his wife Sharolyn, and two friends Josh and Lisa Navone came upon the whale as they were heading out towards the Cuckolds Lighthouse from Boothbay Harbor. When they got near, they could see the whale struggling, Graves said.

“She was hung up on the line and when we got there she was exhausted,” he said. “She was basically just sitting still. Every few minutes it would drop down a little bit then bob-up to catch a breath.”

With no gear on board to extricate the animal, Graves sent out a call for help.

Like Graves and his passengers, the Williamses were out for their final boat ride of the year. They had been out near the mouth of the Damariscotta River when they heard Graves' call to the Coast Guard. Dan Williams said he went to lend a hand because his boat had a lobster hauler and other equipment on board.

A call was made to the Center for Coastal Studies, a Provincetown, Mass.-based organization that specializes in freeing whales. Graves said a team was being assembled to travel north to try and free the whale.

Williams said he normally would have waited, but the whale appeared to be struggling in its exhausted state.

Williams said he wanted to see where the line had caught the whale. He said his fear was that the line had wrapped around a fin or tail, but was relieved when he saw the rope was only caught in the whale's mouth.

“I kept looking for the Coast Guard or someone else to come by,” he said. “But I wasn't just going to sit there and let him hang. If he was bound I wasn't going to risk it, but it was just in his mouth so I felt good about helping him out.”

Dan Williams said when the line was first run through the trap hauler, the whale began to sink. So, Williams again tried to pull on the rope, albeit slowly, and eventually the rope untangled from the whale's jaw.

“I didn't want to just cut the line,” he said. “We just kept bringing him up slowly until we were able to figure out where he was caught.”

Williams said the line had caught around the rear part of the whale's jaw, and the animal couldn't dislodge the rope by itself.

After approximately 15 minutes the line was pulled out and the whale was freed, Graves said.

“She came up, took a big breath and took off. She went a long ways after that,” he said. “She must have been there for many hours. When we got there she could barely keep her head out of the water.”

Williams said it took a little caress but the whale was left visibly unharmed.

“We put a little strain on the line and it popped out of his mouth and away he went,” he said. “He was pretty well exhausted when we got him loose, and he seemed pleased to go on his way.”

Williams said he fishes for tuna and shark and had seen plenty of whales, but it was his first time freeing one.

While the whale took a breath and wasn't seen again, Graves and his party celebrated the only way he said one can celebrate in such a situation.

“We all went to the Thistle (Inn) after and had a good time telling everyone and showing them the photos on the phone,” he said. We determined after saving whales you have to have hot Grand Marnier.”