Whale vs Swordfish and Thrasher:
Dating back to the middle ages there were various recorded sightings of a triple sea creature battle. The battle typically consisted of a whale versus a swordfish and a thrasher shark. Sailors down through the years kept relating they witnessed this triple battle and people keep disputing their sightings. The particular sighting I will deal with is the one by the sealing schooner Annie C. Moore in 1888 off the coast of Northern British Columbia.
Details of the Battle
Blood floating near the ship first attracted the crew’s attention to the battle. They kept careful watch to see what was going on. Finally a whale appear blowing a spout, then a swordfish darted past, followed by a what the sailors referred to as a thrasher or killer fish. The thrasher leapt into the air and crashed upon the whale. A fierce combat ensured. Finally the whale managed to get away to the other side of the ship. The crew of the Annie Moore actually took a side in the fight and tried to hit the thrasher with whaling irons but missed. Then the thrasher attacked the whale a second time in a savage manner. The whale seeming very distressed. Suddenly the whale received a fatal stab from the swordfish that had been swimming nearby. This strike finished off the whale and it went belly up. Before departing the crew could see the thrasher and swordfish biting away at the choicest part of the whale.
References:
Motherwell Times, Saturday 24 November 1888, pg. 4.
Chez Van Duzer, Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps, London: The British Library, 2013, pg. 37. - Discusses the inclusion of three sea creatures fighting on a c.1400 English map (whale, swordfish and maybe a thrasher).
The Durham County Advertiser, Friday 07 September, 1860, pg. 2. - An early sighting of the same type of battle, the crew also claimed what they saw was true.