I was in a punting boat (like the ones you have in oxford/cambridge) and we was sitting facing opposite the direction of our movement. As we were going forward, we were hit in the front by a punting boat coming towards us in the other direction. We were barely moving / basically at rest if I recall correctly when suddenly this other boat hits us. As I said, I was sitting such that I could not see this boat coming. So when we were hit, I was not braced at all for the impact. It caused my head to be thrown forward, even making my teeth chatter.
I was shocked at how rapidly I felt my head and neck jolt forward given that we were on a boat and not moving very fast nor do I think the other boat was moving very fast either.
To be honest, it felt a bit like a car crash and everyone on the boat (myself included) gasped/made shocked sounds.

Could this have caused whiplash injury? Could this impact be comparable to that experienced in a car crash when rear-ended?