Killer whales off the Pacific Attacking Boats Too!

[catsketcher]

What an amazing experience. Encounters with whales and dolphins are always a highlight for us. We once had 8 dolphins stay with us for 45 minutes when we never dropped below 14 knots. They went about 10 miles out of their way just to play. When I first went cruising in 1992 we saw about 2 humpbacks, now there are about 35000 along our coast - great news. You can see hundreds in one day.

I can understand the awesome nature an orca, we are slowly getting them back in Australian waters after whaling humpbacks and right whales reduced their numbers. I saw one in New Zealand and it was a highlight.

Maybe in the end we will install lifting rudders, or everyone will carry a spare like in offshore racing, to cruise in areas where the orcas are upset with boats (it seems as though the Iberian attacks were after a boat killed an adolescent orca). The chance will be dealt with, accepted or not, like sinking and fire is, and we will get on with our lives, but we will have amazing animals to observe and respect as well when we cruise. One of the reasons I cruise is to observe amazing animals and ecosystems. (But to be truthful, I don't get excited about crocs and even 4ft black tip reefies get me jittery - but I don't want to get rid of them)

cheers

Phil

[Old Bay]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

Cool video. WOT and that beast was just playing with them.

It does not look like wide open throttle to me. Looks like they just got on plane. If that is WOT, they need a bigger motor.

[Old Bay]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Same here. You can rip the rudders off and I won’t be sinking. Not even close.
you can even drill big holes at the lowest point of the rocker in the bottom of each of my hulls and I’m still not sinking.

The way that I would run into problems is if they breached and broke the structural beams that hold the boat together.

I still wouldn’t sink. But there would be a lot of stuff floating around that I would have to hold onto ha ha

this is because I have 1" corecell. The displacement of my foam core is a lot greater than the weight of the boat.

you could actually cut a big piece of the topsides off. A big flat piece off the side of my boat and throw it in the water and it would float away like a raft.

I got really obsessive about this stuff when I was building. Calculating buoyancy and all of that

ORCAS SAY GAME ON!!!

[jeanathon]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

, to cruise in areas where the orcas are upset with boats (it seems as though the Iberian attacks were after a boat killed an adolescent orca).
cheers

Phil

Can you reference a citation here or are you just repeating speculation as fact?

[jeanathon]

Originally Posted by Old Bay

It does not look like wide open throttle to me. Looks like they just got on plane. If that is WOT, they need a bigger motor.

With that 11 ton graceful monster riding your wake wave would you be at anything less than WOT?

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

True, but along the coast of Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar, not so much. For the orcas it may be hooliganism but boats have sunk.

Orcinus Orca ("Killer Whales") are mammals, just like us. Just like us, every once in a while we get a mentally disturbed whale that likes to attack boats. We, on the other hand, get people who buy an AK-47 at a local gun fair and kill a bunch of school children.

I would suggest that the incidents off the Iberian peninsula are the actions of such an aberrant whale or pod of whales (the cetacean equivalent of the Proud Boys?). It is NOT representative of the thousands of "Killer Whales" world wide that just like to have a little fun and dance with the humans sometimes.

As for accidental physical impacts, with Orcas at least, they are EXTREMELY rare. Orcas (and whales generally) are VERY aware of their body position, much like human gymnasts. If they want to come close they will miss you by six inches - and be very aware of it.

On several occasions I have had Orcas and Humpbacks right alongside, or underneath Scorpius and have never been touched. The biggest worry I've had (and it wasn't all that big) was when a very large Humpback started blowing bubbles directly under me and Scorpius dropped significantly due to the loss of buoyancy in the white water! I'm quite sure that the whale was just being playful, not trying to sink me.

Around here we live with whales and bears, and teach our children to admire and accommodate them; not fear and seek to destroy them.

That's the city of Vancouver in the background:
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-phot...ayak-1.6407715

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

With that 11 ton graceful monster riding your wake wave would you be at anything less than WOT?

Orcas can do 30 knots.

[catsketcher]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

Can you reference a citation here or are you just repeating speculation as fact?

Here is one - I think the incident was a juvenile being killed by a boat

https://www.washingtonpost.com/scien...-boat-attacks/

[desodave]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

Desodave: I would suggest other boaters are by far the #1movable boating hazard around here. Orcas not even close (indeed, not a hazard).

Grey whales and humpbacks don't echo locate, thus may not know you're around (even more so for us quieter sailboats). They're also big and often not moving fast. But spectacular (as long as they miss you.)

But this thread's title (and some responses) is highly egregious. Doesn't reflect local (BC/WA/AK) knowledge, experience or understanding.

My fingers were a bit ahead of my brain re the movable hazards ... you are absolutely correct. Also agree re the orcas ... I've had them go straight by the boat in Discovery Passage and their movements are predictable in the open ocean and in channels. Your last paragraph better states the point I too was trying to make.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

Here is one - I think the incident was a juvenile being killed by a boat

https://www.washingtonpost.com/scien...-boat-attacks/

That’s the typical BS article. Headlines say it is “revenge of the killer whale” then buried in the article it says that it may just be natural curiosity

Unfortunately I believe the only option is to take out the pod that is responsible before they kill people and/or the behavior spreads.

Someone else commented about comparisons with political groups… would whales do politics? I think they may…

[catsketcher]

Some light science articles

https://www.sciencealert.com/orcas-a...ve-no-idea-why

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...%20main%20prey.

Hopefully the orca will stop following the biting the rudder fad started by Gladis. Why she started, no one is sure, but one idea is that she was hurt.

I know they have sunk one boat, but I hope that any calls for culling are many well researched science studies away. Humans could try some other tricks first, maybe a type of flash bang or high pitch sound could be used.

cheers

Phil

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

Some light science articles

https://www.sciencealert.com/orcas-a...ve-no-idea-why

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...%20main%20prey.

Hopefully the orca will stop following the biting the rudder fad started by Gladis. Why she started, no one is sure, but one idea is that she was hurt.

I know they have sunk one boat, but I hope that any calls for culling are many well researched science studies away. Humans could try some other tricks first, maybe a type of flash bang or high pitch sound could be used.

cheers

Phil

They sunk three boats already. It’s only a matter of time before someone dies. I don’t think a warning shot will help and even if it does, will it for the next boat coming along?

It’s like a bear or alligator that starts displaying aggressive behavior: putting it down is the only option, not just for the safety of humans, but also for their species (prevent the hunting like done on sharks etc.)

[Ryban]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It’s like a bear or alligator that starts displaying aggressive behavior: putting it down is the only option, not just for the safety of humans, but also for their species (prevent the hunting like done on sharks etc.)

What a human response. We take away habitat, we make changes to our climate, we put undo pressures on these animals due to our own behavior/greed/ and need of perpetual growth, and we treat their space as our playground and then when there are unpleasant encounters between humans and wildlife, our solution is to destroy the animal.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Ryban

What a human response. We take away habitat, we make changes to our climate, we put undo pressures on these animals due to our own behavior/greed/ and need of perpetual growth, and we treat their space as our playground and then when there are unpleasant encounters between humans and wildlife, our solution is to destroy the animal.

It happens far too often around here with bears.

[Ryban]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

It happens far too often around here with bears.

Yup. If you go backpacking or camping in grizzly country, swim in shark infested water, or sail where orcas are known to get a little too playful, then I think the better option is to prepare and plan, take steps to mitigate an unpleasant encounter, and accept that there are risks when we push our adventures outside the safe confines of our developed world. Instead though, we try to tame the wild to fit more nicely with our expectations.