Two humpback whales spotted off coast of Ocean City, Maryland, over Memorial Day weekend

A pair of marine mammals were spotted in the mix of tourists dotting the Eastern Shore over Memorial Day weekend.

The two humpback whales were observed just 12 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, by local resident Pam Taylor, as well as her husband, Rod, and son, Brett.

The whale encounter was initially shared in a May 25 Facebook post.

Taylor can recall the whale encounter in detail.

NEW OCEANFRONT COCKTAIL BAR: Ocean City's Coconut Club a new craft cocktail bar and coastal escape, all in one

The morning had been rather foggy as she and her family sat in 46 feet of water catching and releasing 12.5” seabass. That was when a peculiar noise caught her attention.

"I kept hearing this weird noise, thinking it was a fog horn or something off in the distance. All of a sudden, we just heard this big splash," Taylor said of the moment she first caught sight of the whales. "They were big, and went directly underneath our boat."

Together, everyone aboard the boat pulled their fishing lines in, grabbed their phones and settled in for a spectacular show, courtesy of mother nature.

"It was breathtaking," said Taylor, who feels blessed to have had such a close encounter.

NEW OCEAN CITY MUSEUM: Ocean City to get grand new museum on Boardwalk soon: Take a look inside the restored bank

Close encounters nothing new for Ocean City tourney director

This wasn't Taylor's first time coming face to face with whales out on the open ocean.

As the tournament director of Tuna and Tiaras —  the world's sole Ladies Only Tuna Tournament, based out of Ocean City —  Taylor finds herself out on the water more often than not, encountering many different marine mammals along the way.

"We fish a lot, so we're on the water quite a bit," she said. "We get to see a lot of really cool stuff."

LEARN ABOUT SWAMP CANCER: What is 'swamp cancer' and how could a vaccine protect countless horses?

Taylor is quite passionate about protecting the planet's oceans. She ended her viral Facebook post with the hashtag: #keepouroceansclean, a message she hopes to pass on to the world.

"(The ocean) is the only part of the world that's not being built on directly; a fresh piece of land if you will. Keeping it that way is a top priority for everyone who fishes out there," she said.

Taylor's greatest wish is for others to have beautiful experiences with nature, similar to the one she had over Memorial Day weekend with the massive, majestic humpback whales.

"We were 12 miles from the beaches and still had to move out of their way," she said. "They always have the right of way, after all."

NEW BLUE CRAB SURVEY: Maryland crab numbers dip in latest Chesapeake Bay survey. A dive into the numbers.

Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Ocean City resident gets up close view of wild sight, humpback whales