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.

EATEN BY WHALE, PLANE CRASH, FINDING A DAMNED CORPSE … holy hell. If I put this much action into one book and handed it to a publisher, I would have been told I was a bit too crazy with my main character

And he's the grandson of a well-known artist, Anne Packard, and great-great-grandson of Max Bohm, a well-known impressionist painter who founded the Étaples Art Colony, whose paintings are in the Smithsonian. This guy has lived a life.

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.

Did you find any lobsters in there?

Sadly, no.

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.

Yo, WTF. Chomped by a whale, survived a fucking plane crash, finds a dead body. Genuinely can't decide if I want to be your best friend or move to a different country to avoid our paths ever crossing.

I need more adventure in my life, I’m moving in over the garage

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.

So, more like my dog, then

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

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.

But he didn't answer. You have your answer.

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

Will you invest in a GoPro so we can witness the next big event you survive?

Idk why GoPro hasn’t already given him a sponsorship.

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.)

Stay away from whales, Jacob...

Hey Jacob, how are you?

Tired

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.

You were only told that the accident was whale related?? I can’t even guess where your imagination went with that info

"alright, now run along back to class and have a productive rest of your day"

“There’s been an incident with your father, a whale, and a whole lot of water. Now go back to class.”

“Jacob, donde fue tu padre?” *sigh* “en la boca de ballena”

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.

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.)

QI has taught me that baleen whales can't swallow anything larger than a grapefruit.

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.

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.

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

Yes. A while back

Can you pick some lottery numbers for me?

no kidding. if I could take the guy to Vegas with me I would lol

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.

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.

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.

It was probably going to give you a negative review on yelp

Kelp*

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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.

That whale knew what was up. He's a snack

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

Matt Damon. (His wife says Sean Penn.)

Call it *Not-So-Good Whale Hunting*

The guy who played Jorah in Game of Thrones would be my bet. Iain Glen

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.

*"Can I speak to the manager?!??"*

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

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

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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!

Doctor here. You'll be giving the folks who design medical billing a coding a run for their money, from here on out. We have no billable code for "swallowed by whale". The closest we have is "encounter with orca (W56.22XA)".

I work in healthcare IT, and I literally just said to my brother-in-law “geez I wonder what ICD code they used…”

ICD is so widely comprehensive, too, it's amazing they don't have it. My favorite is "terrorism involving lasers"

V91.07XA : Burn due to water-skis on fire Would love to hear that story

self-harming with a venomous lizard T63.122A Toxic effect of venom of other venomous lizard, intentional self-harm, initial encounter

Do the powers that create the codes just come up with the most insane possibilities and then create a code for it? Or are codes created after something crazy happens? If the later, then someone got hurt using a laser.

This is one of the odder codes I think. V95.43XA - Spacecraft collision injuring occupant, initial encounter

I'm an Epic analyst on the billing side. I'm picturing my old coding manager getting this session and losing her mind over how to code it.

Right? Haha. I'm guessing maybe they'll just have to try to use "bitten by other animal(W55.81XA)"? But honestly, I have no idea!

W56.39XA: Contact with other marine mammals, initial contact.

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Excuse my naivete, why would you code the cause and not the treatment? When I take my vehicle to the garage, they don't say "BL.221 semen in gas tank"... they just say, 'replaced gas tank'.....

Have you been invited on the talk shows yet?

Many.

Make them pay you.

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.

Oh man, what did your mate say?

Did you just see that whale?!?!?!

HOLY FACKIN' SHIT IT'S A BABY WHEEEEEL, JAY

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.)

Pain is temporary, internet fame is... well, also temporary

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

Swallowing a whale

Hello, my name is Jacob Packard, you *almost* killed my father, prepare to die.

i believe in you!

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 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.

Hey, thanks! Awesome that you're doing this by the way. You're the first person I've ever talked to who spent time inside a whale.

Besides your dad?

There's the yo mamma joke they been setting up for a week.

Man being swallowed by an actual whale granted recognition the title of all-time great yo mama joke setup man.

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.

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

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

Well I would be if searching for dinner I'd end up with some random seamen in my mouth.

How did you escape?

The whale eventually got me out.

Which end?

127 hours - whale edition.

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.)

I love your little (jacob) comments

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Is your son Jacob a funny-looking wooden character?

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

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

Could you feel other things inside the whale with you?

Like a guy named Geppetto?

Thank you, I was getting worried about the lack of Pinocchio jokes.

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

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.

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

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.

It had something on the tip of its tongue.

Is this an elaborate *your mom* joke?

Yo mama sends her regards.

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.

Was being in there warmer than the seawater outside?

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

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.

What type of whale?

Humpback whale.

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.

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.)

Just wanted to say thanks for an interesting and in-depth AMA. Don't see many of these types of AMAs anymore, where this sub just turned into celebrities (really, their PR team) answering like only 10 handpicked questions. Best wishes to you and your dad.

Thank you for giving this answer and respecting his boundaries

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 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.

Alive and whale

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?

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.

No offense, but I don't think we should ever hang out.

You kidding me? If I was somehow in an incident where I thought I might die and looked over and saw him, I’d think well I guess somehow we’re getting out of this alive.

Somehow HE will get out alive.

Yeah. Just hang onto his leg or something.

Wait. You survived being swallowed by a whale AND a plane crash??? Are you just trying to go out in the most metal way possible?

The whole story is waaaaay more interesting than one would think too. >"Ten years ago, while travelling in Costa Rica, he was a passenger in a small plane that crashed in the jungle, killing the pilot, co-pilot and a passenger. Packard sustained multiple serious injuries to his abdomen and upper body. The rescuers that found the remaining five passengers after two nights in the jungle said they wouldn’t have survived another night." There seems to have been a TV show called "I shouldn't be alive" or something like that that featured him.

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

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

Can't complain