More incidents with orcas

[PeteTheDeliverySkipper]

What is going on? In this last year so many yachts have been damaged by orcas off the coast of Spain.

We were delivering an Amel 52 from Gibraltar to the UK and this happened yesterday:

It has happened once again, another incident with Orcas off the coast of Spain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E76ReRmktQ

Pete

[belizesailor]

Anybody have a plot of the locations of these events? Would be interesting to see how closely they are cluster.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Anybody have a plot of the locations of these events? Would be interesting to see how closely they are cluster.

Well there were reports of a pod around La Coruna and Finisterre, then they moved down the Portuguese coast. now I guess they're down by Trafalgar for the Tuna run.. follow the food.

[seadago]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Anybody have a plot of the locations of these events? Would be interesting to see how closely they are cluster.

The whole of the Iberian Atlatic seaboard. "Attacks" have been reported from Tarifa all the way to the Galician rias.

And the skipper did the wrong thing by hugging the coast. That´s where the orcas concentrate to feed on tuna caught by the stationary nets (almadrabas) along the coast from Gib to Cape St Vincent. Further offshore there´s no tuna and no orcas. There is a lot of big ship traffic though!

[Nikolina]

It would help if they played a more suspenseful music in the video, theme song to Jaws maybe!

[seadago]

Latest...
https://www.msn.com/es-es/noticias/i...?ocid=msedgntp

Spanish maritime agency restricts vessels below 12 m lenth from sailing on the stretch from Barbate to Cape Trafalgar between 2 and 9 miles from the coastline, because of incidents with orcas.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by seadago

Latest...
https://www.msn.com/es-es/noticias/i...?ocid=msedgntp

Spanish maritime agency restricts vessels below 12 m lenth from sailing on the stretch from Barbate to Cape Trafalgar between 2 and 9 miles from the coastline, because of incidents with orcas.

Yup.. there's Tuna nets strung from Trafalgar to the SW and a few along the stretch from just W of the Barbate entrance running SE.. there's 3 right off the Barbate entrance between 3 and 5 nm S.

[Greatest Lakes]

They were attacking refugee boats for a while. I wonder if they are looking for food...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Greatest Lakes

They were attacking refugee boats for a while. I wonder if they are looking for food...

Maybe...more likely to get a snack off a refugee boat!

[robwilk37]

"attack" might be a bit strong.

an animal that size, freely swimming in its natural habitat, could easily destroy a plastic boat and crush the scrawny little humans if it wanted to. lacking hands, they explore new/odd objects with their mouths. what is being called an attack could just as easily be a little heavy petting in orca-speak.

i can remember a jacque custeau film of orcas trying to help a dying orca (belly-up and on the surface) by pushing on its dorsal and rolling it over so it could breath. maybe this is just a case of mistaken identity ? i think the fact that the humans safely returned from the food chain to tell the tale bodes well for the animals intent.

then again, im a hippy tree-hugger...

[Tomodore]

It would be interesting to see the rudder when the boat is hauled. We saw A pod of orcas pin a large pod of dolphins against the beach last summer here in the Gulf of California when we were anchored. Scary and amazing apex predators.

[Nord Sal]

Please post some photos of the rudder after you get hauled out.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by PeteTheDeliverySkipper

What is going on? In this last year so many yachts have been damaged by orcas off the coast of Spain.

We were delivering an Amel 52 from Gibraltar to the UK and this happened yesterday:

It has happened once again, another incident with Orcas off the coast of Spain.

Pete

Didn't this happen to you near La Coruna on another delivery.???

[AKA-None]

From the video it appears less attack and more encounter

[mglonnro]

Finnish media reported a few days ago about a Finnish couple (https://www.instagram.com/sailingbellavita) having an encounter (touched the rudder for approx 10 minutes but nothing broken) and a bit later hearing over the VHF of another encounter where the rudder actually was damaged and the boat had to be towed.

https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/...3316#gs.6adkwx