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© Wicked Local photo by Vincent GuadaznoOne of five passengers being carried off the Whale Watcher, a whale watch boat based in Hyannis that got hit by a rogue wave Monday morning off Provincetown.
A whale watch boat carrying passengers out of Hyannis was hit by a rogue wave Monday morning causing minor injuries to five students from Barnstable High School.

The Coast Guard said in a release the crew of the 130-foot Whale Watcher notified Coast Guard Station Provincetown at 10:23 a.m., that five high school students suffered injuries after a five to seven foot wave struck the bow of the vessel during a whale watching tour about five miles north of Race Point.

At the time the rogue wave stuck the vessel students were on the bow and sustained minor injuries, according to the Coast Guard.

Provincetown's pier manager, Rex McKinsey said the Whale Watcher, owned by Hyannis Whales Cruises, was outside of Cape Cod Bay on its way to Stellwagen Bank when it was hit by a rogue wave and bounced around the passengers aboard the vessel.

McKinsey explained that a rogue wave is a wave either longer that the others in the area or from a different direction .

After being hit by the wave the Whale Watcher headed to Provincetown Harbor where they were met by members of the Provincetown Rescue Squad.

The five Barnstable High School students were transported to Cape Cod Hospital with minor injuries, said McKinsey.

The 130-foot Whale Watcher has a 392-passenger capacity and was carrying about 100 passengers including students on a class trip from Barnstable High School, said a representative of the company who asked not to be named.

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