On the subject of Orca attacks
The first documented orca attack was allegedly at the end of the 19th century, at the height of industrial whaling, published in the Halifax Times in Nova Scotia.
Depending on who you ask there have been anywhere between 40 and 200 orca attacks on yachts this year so far in the area in and around the Strait of Gibraltar. Orca have also been seen inside the Med as far East as Marbella - 40nm from the Straits.
Are they all serious attacks on yachts or are some just sightings near yachts? Do sightings from motor vessels count? There seems to be no distinction. Everyone talks about attacks, but no-one has been hurt, so far.
I was in a shipyard the other day where at least three yachts were missing rudders. As a surveyor I have personally attended onboard 14 yachts for the insurers that have had their rudders chewed this year.
None of the crews I spoke to felt their lives were endangered. They did not feel the orca were ‘after them’ but rather that their yacht had become a plaything of the orca.
All of the boats I attended were ‘attacked’ within 10nm of the Spanish Atlantic coastal port of Barbate, which itself is about 12nm north of the West end of the Straits at Tarifa. All of the yachts I visited followed the procedure posted on a certain website telling you to turn everything off and play dead.
In all cases the orca took hold of the rudder and turned the boat sideways, or around, numerous times. In most cases they took big chunks out of the rudder by clamping on and twisting their bodies, played with it for a
By Kim Skov-Nielsen MIIMS
while, spat it out and came back for more. Until they got bored or found something else to play with.
The Spanish rescue vessel based in Barbate - a 60’ rib with enclosed bridge - always takes a few turns around the stricken vessel at high speed to scare the orca off. This doesn’t always work. In one instance they kept up their ‘play’ even after a tow had been established and the towed vessel was almost in the harbour at Barbate. They quit when the water depth was only 5m. At no time did they head-butt the vessel, nor did they nudge or play with the keel.
In one instance four orca lined up in line abreast and ploughed toward the vessel on the surface from abeam, diving under at the last minute while their bow wave rocked the vessel severely. This tactic has been observed in the Arctic as a means of dislodging seals from icefloes. This tacti implies that they were trying to dislodge the crew on deck and is the most disturbing tactic yet employed.
Many crews have described an almost playful attitude amongst the orca as they tossed bits of rudder about. Indeed, a group of three juveniles and a mother have been seen more than once and the mother
110 | ISSUE 106 | DEC 2023 | THE REPORT
has been called “White Gladys” as she has much larger white areas than other orcas that are predominantly black. She is also quite big.
Whether she has been teaching successive generations of progeny to play with yacht rudders is a good question.
The orca here are a separate species, a distinct generic variation from the orca on the north west corner of Spain and also distinct from the orca family in the Canary Islands. So, we may have a group of orca specially adapted to play with yacht rudders, led by White Gladys.
When you consider the shape of a yacht as seen from under the water, you could be excused for thinking it is a large, disabled whale lying on its side with a big pectoral fin (the keel) hanging down and a moving tailfin at the back (the rudder).
Orca see using sonar. This is a sonic wave they emit and then recover. They may not be able to distinguish between a living and an injured creature. They may assume that it is a whale from the shape alone, and that because they hear no heartbeat it is a dead whale ready for consumption.
Pingers, an ultra-sonic device that emits a high-pitch ping at a frequency defined by 20 years of NOAA research which keeps dolphins, orca, and whales away from tuna fishing fleets, have been mandatory on EU (and worldwide) tuna boats since 1992. Or ever since Mel Gibson made a joke about tuna sandwiches in Lethal Weapon 2.
Speaking to the manufacturer about their effectiveness he said “I don’t seem to get any calls telling me they are working. I only get calls when
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144
