Hello Brennan,
Brennan Burns said:
I have read an eyewhitness account of a man on a military lessel that was over 170 ft. long. He stated that a squid surfaced close to the side of the ship, he walked the entire length of the ship and saw that the squid was longer!
Was that the account of Dennis Braun, printed in Richard Ellis's book? Braun didn't claim that the squid had surfaced alongside the ship, but that the animal was visible far below the surface, and that it was "probably" 100ft or more in length. You're quite right to point out that this was an uncorroborated eye-witness account, but it is quite a story.
I have read another nearly verified account, similar to one mentioned previously in this forum of a soviet whaler whitnesing an epoch battle near the surface of the water between a 40 ton sperm whale and a giant squid. The whale was later found by the ship strangled to death, floating in the sea with the dead squid's tenticles still wraped around it's throat and it's head crushed in in the sperm whale's jaw.
Never heard that one. If something like that happened, I think it's significant that this scene was observed from a Soviet whaler. Perhaps they recovered a harpooned sperm whale that vomited up a large squid in its death throes, or killed a whale after it had surfaced with its dinner.
Giant squids have actually been known to attack and kill the Right whale for nothing more than sport (supported by eye whitness account).
'Twould have to be for sport, wouldn't it? Right whales are massive animals, and unless the squid could somehow physically cover the whale's airway (and be smart enough to do so), there's really no way it could kill such a leviathan.
Take a look at the
Giant Squid and Colossal Squid Fact Sheet for the most accurate and up-to-date assessment of maximum size for the
Architeuthis No accurately measured specimen has ever approached 59 ft. in length. That doesn't mean they never attain that size, but there's no physical evidence to suggest that they do. You are right to suggest that squid will attack objects much larger than themselves, but when it occurs it is probably due to a combination of biological imperatives: hunger, innate aggression and deep, deep stupidity. Keep in mind, too, that there's more than one type of "giant" squid, and
Architeuthis may not be terribly energetic, especially not at the surface. If the
Brunswick was repeatedly rushed by a very large squid, it might have been a different species.
Look forward to more posts from you, Brennan. Enjoy the forums!
Cheers,
Clem