Orca attack map (Portugal/Spain/Gib)

cherod said:
A cattle prod ? Yes i noticed the bubble blowing , also in one vid the tail slapping , both are actions taken when hunting naturally . Are they , as has been suggested , due to the fall in the large tuna stocks , actually starving and misstaking the sail boats for whales , which they also prey on ?
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Don't underestimate whale intelligence. No way would they mistake a yacht hull for a whale, any more than we would.

I wonder though if its right that some whales have realised the connection between smaller vessels and the loss of their food supply. It might not take too many instances of fishing boats actively interfering with their hunt. The scale at which rapacious fishing takes place off the Iberian coast (we've all seen it, who travel that way) makes this the natural place that this might occur .
 
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Yesterday was the second time there been reported that a yacht being attack engaged astern and the attack stop .
How true the reports both are I couldn't say ,
Has there now reporting of some kind of attack almost on Daly basics Not all resulting in damage ,
So it difficult to know if people are jumping on the band wagon for their 5 mins of fame .
Although we was considering leaving the Med for a Portuguese winter this year , these attrack have put that plain on hold .
There No point in risking weeks/month sitting on the hard waiting for repairs and the costs involved unless that passage need to be made .
Good luck to them who's passing that way .
 
sailaboutvic said:
Yesterday was the second time there been reported that a yacht being attack engaged astern and the attack stop .
How true the reports both are I couldn't say ,
Has there now reporting of some kind of attack almost on Daly basics Not all resulting in damage ,
So it difficult to know if people are jumping on the band wagon for their 5 mins of fame .
Although we was considering leaving the Med for a Portuguese winter this year , these attrack have put that plain on hold .
There No point in risking weeks/month sitting on the hard waiting for repairs and the costs involved unless that passage need to be made .
Good luck to them who's passing that way .
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Once again I ask, what is to be done? This situation is now causing highly experienced sailors like Vic to put their plans on hold. Friends of ours cancelled their trip into the Med last month primarily because of this issue.

We are going back to Portugal and hoping to launch next month, but seriously, a major rudder repair after all the other setbacks we have experienced would probably mean selling the boat.

I am still waiting to hear what percentage of these attacks, if any, have been on long keel boats with keel hung rudders. Our heavy rudder would be quite a mouthful!


- W
 
webcraft said:
Once again I ask, what is to be done? This situation is now causing highly experienced sailors like Vic to put their plans on hold. Friends of ours cancelled their trip into the Med last month primarily because of this issue.
- W
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This year is a washout for us, having been held up for 3 months in UK waiting for second jab. We had planned to sail down to Gib to have the life raft repacked (a year overdue thanks to last year's travel restrictions) but will now drive down and spend night in hotel. rather than transit Trafalgar. Plenty of boats of many nationalities moving around recently but not to 2019 numbers. In reality, orca attacks effect very small numbers of boats but I wouldn't want to be one of them.
 
Graham376 said:
This year is a washout for us, having been held up for 3 months in UK waiting for second jab. We had planned to sail down to Gib to have the life raft repacked (a year overdue thanks to last year's travel restrictions) but will now drive down and spend night in hotel. rather than transit Trafalgar. Plenty of boats of many nationalities moving around recently but not to 2019 numbers. In reality, orca attacks effect very small numbers of boats but I wouldn't want to be one of them.
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Hiya. it's possible to stay inside the 10m contour just about all the way. Just got to watch out for pot markers!
 
AndrewB said:
Don't underestimate whale intelligence. No way would they mistake a yacht hull for a whale, any more than we would.

I wonder though if its right that some whales have realised the connection between smaller vessels and the loss of their food supply.
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Well if they're that smart, I wonder if they could be educated as to the significance of 'a shape consisting of two cones with their apexes together in a vertical line one above the other'? ;)
 
AndrewB said:
Don't underestimate whale intelligence. No way would they mistake a yacht hull for a whale, any more than we would.

I wonder though if its right that some whales have realised the connection between smaller vessels and the loss of their food supply. It might not take too many instances of fishing boats actively interfering with their hunt. The scale at which rapacious fishing takes place off the Iberian coast (we've all seen it, who travel that way) makes this the natural place that this might occur .
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There is some confusion here. Orcas are not small whales but large dolphins. I don't know if there has been any scientific study of comparative intelligences but I remember Pavlov defining intelligence as being the ability to solve a problem and stating that apart from humans only monkeys had intelligence but perhaps he had never met an orca.
 
25931 said:
There is some confusion here. Orcas are not small whales but large dolphins. I don't know if there has been any scientific study of comparative intelligences but I remember Pavlov defining intelligence as being the ability to solve a problem and stating that apart from humans only monkeys had intelligence but perhaps he had never met an orca.
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Dolphins are in fact whales, or part of the whale family. Scientifically, all whales, dolphins and porpoises are classified as Cetacea. And within Cetacea are two suborders: baleen whales and toothed whales. Baleen whales include the really big ones, such as blue whales and humpbacks. Toothed whales include dolphins and orcas, or killer whales, as they’re often known. In fact, orcas are the largest dolphins, growing to be about 32 feet (10 meters) long. Many dolphins only average eight to nine feet (2-3 meters) in length.

So yes, orcas are dolphins, and dolphins are whales!

Hope that finally clears that up :cool:

- W
 
lusitano said:
New Orca attacks on yachts off coast of Lagos and Sagres - Portugal Resident
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We dodged a bullet with that attack. We left Sagres late that morning and slowly tacked in a light headwind up to Portameo. We saw a lifeboat go past us the opposite way an hour or so up the coast! I guess to attend to the attacked boat
Having watched the video, I think I will be starting the engine and reversing to deter an attack on my rudder whilst calling for help. Clearly doing nothing as per the advice doesn't work for yachts.
 
alexsailor said:
shoot them
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You will have great difficulty in obtaining permission from the competent authorities to carry a weapon of adequate calibre to deal with the whale killers effectively.

And your brave recommendation says a lot about your perception of the proper relationship between mankind and other animals. I would much happier if you took up a less confrontational hobby than sailing.
 
Suspect if this is not resolved it will have a long-term impact on sailing in Iberia.

Do attacks occurred during the hours of darkness? If not, I anticipate quick night passages through the area will become the order of the day and local recreational day sailing will die.

There is a suggestion that rather than shutting down your engine, selecting reverse, prevents the orcas attacking the rudder so they rapidly lose interest and depart.

Any additional evidence would be valuable.
 
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I was fishing off Carmel head North Wales on the coast line and a Risso dolphin swam underneath the high rock I was on. This was an impressive size don't know what I would do with an Orca.
 
nortada said:
Suspect if this is not resolved it will have a long-term impact on sailing in Iberia.

Do attacks occurred during the hours of darkness? If not, I anticipate quick night passages through the area will become the order of the day and local recreational day sailing will die.

There is a suggestion that rather than shutting down your engine, selecting reverse, prevents the orcas attacking the rudder so they rapidly lose interest and depart.

Any additional evidence would be valuable.
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We are thinking of cutting our stay on the Algarve short and heading to the Canaries earlier than planned just to get away from the risk spot.
 
alexsailor said:
shoot them
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Already suggested that 9 months ago before it got out of hand and was shot down in flames by the environmentalists. Now we have a serious issue down here. Wouldn't it be karma if one of them got their rudder bitten off. Not wishing it on anyone of course, but many of those objecting didn't even sail in the area.
 
greeny said:
Already suggested that 9 months ago before it got out of hand and was shot down in flames by the environmentalists. Now we have a serious issue down here. Wouldn't it be karma if one of them got their rudder bitten off. Not wishing it on anyone of course, but many of those objecting didn't even sail in the area.
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Even if shooting them was on, you would have to confirm a clean kill or retribution would be swift and terminal.

Suspect if you shot and killed one ocar, the rest of the pod are unlikely to do nothing. More likely to ‘finish’ you before seeking out other ‘killer boats’ and deal with them in a similar fashion.

Wonder what calibration of weapon would be required - an elephant gun!
 
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