Orca attacks: rudder loss and damage as incidents escalate

The first signs that something strange was happening came in July 2020. After the start of the strangest summer any of us can remember, as Europe began to open up again to sailing, there were apparently reports from Gibraltar and the Spanish Atlantic coast. orcas attacks on yachts.

One of the first incidents involved a Hallberg-Rassy 36, which was being sailed to southern Spain by a Halcyon Yachts delivery crew. “Our crew had just left La Coruña and were a few miles offshore when the crew suddenly felt the wheel being pulled out of their hands,” said Peter Green of Halcyon Yachts.

The yacht was then towed, but the impacts of the orcas continued, causing the tow rope to snap. When the yacht was lifted ashore there were clear bite marks on the hull and the rudder was split in half.

While such incidents seem almost unbelievable, a clear pattern quickly began to emerge. yacht of the spanish navy, Mirfak, lost part of her rudder after an apparent attack of orcas where it appears they bit the stern of the yacht – which the crew captured on video. In six months, around 40 such incidents were reported.

This summer the situation worsened. Dr Ruth Esteban, a marine scientist who has spent six years observing Spain’s killer whale population and is currently studying killer whale behavior with the Atlantic Orca Working Group, said that only between June and mid-July 2021 , 53 incidents were reported.

Martin Evans was on board another Hallberg-Rassy, ​​a 49 called Kismet, also delivered by a Halcyon Yachts crew. The crew were about 50 miles west of Gibraltar when they encountered a large group of orcas in June of this year.

“I was pretty familiar with the interactions with the orcs ahead of time, but thought we had kind of passed through the worst realm by the time we had ours.

“There are two small pools of shallow water around Cadiz towards Tarifa. I was on my watch and the boat was on autopilot. I turned to see the direction of the boat flying left, right, left, right, crashing into its cockpit. I put the pilot in manual mode, then on either side of me there were orcas everywhere.

Martin Evans estimates that there were around a dozen or more whales around their yacht, ranging from small juveniles to large adults. “There was constant whale activity, port and starboard. Everywhere we looked there was one entering.

“I think we’ve been hit 100 or 200 times on the rudder. It was consistent. They had been there for a good hour. We lowered the sails as instructed, and finally they left.

“But they left for 20 minutes, then they came back. We could see them breaking the surface in the distance and heading straight for the rudder. They were very focused on their task.

David Smith was delivering a new Lagoon 45 when he encountered orcas hitting the rudders

At one point, Evans was able to see an orca with a piece of rudder foam in its mouth. After another 40 minutes, the orcas finally swam.

What no one knows is why orcs have started to behave this way, or why apparent killer whales are becoming more frequent. Theories abound – some have suggested that a member of the family group has been injured by a boat and the whales seek revenge.

Dr Esteban is not joining the speculation. “We didn’t know at the start and we still don’t know now why this is happening. And I don’t know if we’ll ever find out.

Orc attacks: the leaders

Esteban says they have identified the whales they believe are involved. “For the moment, these are two groups that belong to two different families. But it’s not the whole family that interacts.

“In one group it’s just juveniles and in the other it’s mostly juveniles and even calves. There is also an adult with them, who can be seen near the boat.

Some have observed that the whales appear to have their bellies up in the videos, suggesting that they are playing rather than being aggressive. “It’s not really proof,” says Esteban. “When they’re on their stomachs it’s more like they’re curious because it means they’re checking something with their head in that direction. So they are intentionally looking for something.

Having studied the local killer whale population for many years, Esteban knows their usual behaviors. It is believed that there are around 60 whales, their territory stretching about 900 miles from the mouth of the Mediterranean, to the coast of Portugal and all the way to Biscay, where they run along the northern coast of the Spain, often following schools of tuna.

“Normally in spring near Barbate, near the entrance to the [Gibraltar] Straits, there are shallow waters and this is where you can see whales hunting tuna. What they do is hunt the tuna for about 30 minutes until the tuna is exhausted, and that’s when the whales can catch them, ”she explains.

Orcs hitting the rudders hitting the rudders of a Lagoon 45

“In the summer we normally see them right in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar, interacting with the fishing fleet.

“Bluefin tuna fishing has been going on there for quite a long time, on long lines with hooks, and what they do is pull along the line until they get close to it. the surface, then when the tuna gets close to the surface, the killer whales come up to the surface and take it.

The fishing fleet is made up of large Spanish vessels and smaller Moroccans. “Sometimes when we were counting the number of boats around the animals, there were hundreds of them, so they used to be surrounded by boats and maneuver between them, but never touch the boats, until last year, ”says Esteban.

Sustained attack

Of most concern is the fact that whale interactions with ships appear not only to be more frequent, but also more sustained and involving an increasingly wide range of ships.

“Last year it was mostly small sailboats, but this year they are going for bigger sailboats and even catamarans, destroying both rudders. They have also been reported to leave for fishing boats and small RIBs in southern Portugal where whale watching boats are mostly RIBs.

“They go there, but since there is no rudder, they just push the propellers and even push from the bottom of the boat. But this is a little worrying because it seems that their behavior is changing. “

Orcas completely destroyed the rudder of this Jeanneau Voyage 1120, causing € 23,000 in damage

More positively, when I spoke to Esteban at the end of July, no incidents had been reported for two weeks. “The last interaction we reported was on July 14 in the Strait, but people have reported sightings of animals in Portugal and even Galicia, so it looks like they’re already on the move.”

[Edit: Since this article was published, the interactions resumed with reported incidents throughout August and early September, see www.orcaiberica.org/last-interactions for latest updates and maps of encounters. New navigation limits have also been imposed from 8-22 September]

Esteban and the Atlantic Orca Working Group are asking all sailors who encounter orcas to warn them to help them track the movement of the whales. They also ask sailors to send photos or video footage of incidents to help identify the whales involved – each killer whale has a uniquely shaped pale gray patch behind its dorsal fin, similar to a “fingerprint”, which can be used to identify whales from the surface.

Otherwise, the official advice is to stop the yacht, dismantle the sails and turn off the autopilot as well as the engine. Sailors are advised not to hang on to the helm, as it can suddenly get out of control when the whales collide with the steering gear. It is also advisable not to shout or try to touch the whales, or to approach them on board the boat, but to record them discreetly.

Alert the authorities

David Smith was the delivery captain of a brand new Lagoon 45 which came under attack. He advises yachts passing through the area to think carefully about their route and communications on board in case they encounter orcas.

Orcas are toothed whales (called odontocetes) but are also the largest member of the dolphin family

“My biggest fear was that they would damage the rudder stock – and getting on the liferaft didn’t seem like an option. I’ve never been so happy to have a satellite phone on board, so I was able to phone the Falmouth Coast Guard and say, “It’s not a Mayday or even a Pan Pan, but it could get serious very quickly “. They contacted the Portuguese Coast Guard who were aware that there might be a problem.

“We were 25 miles offshore – normally around the Portuguese coast you tend to stay at sea a bit, to get away from lobster pots and fishing boats. Between the traffic separation zone and the shore, there is a pretty nice corridor, but it’s a pretty secluded place. I couldn’t see anything on the AIS and we were out of VHF range for the Coast Guard, and I was just like “What the hell are we doing?” “

Smith also purchased a satellite communications device so he can text or email a key contact if he needs to sound the alarm while cruising the area again in the future.

“I’m bringing a boat from southern Portugal to Plymouth, and decided to kiss the shore. Normally we would be fine at sea, but until that stops I want to play it safe, ”Smith adds.

Some skippers have chosen to simply avoid the area. Martin Evans, who owns his own small yacht in Greece, intends to skip the strait entirely by combining navigation through the French canals and the route up to the UK.

If you liked it….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for blue water cruisers and deep sea sailors. Every month we have inspiring adventures and handy features to help you make your boating dreams come true.

Expand your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. Check out our latest offers and save at least 30% off the price of the blanket.