Orca attack

[John_Silver]

Googling around, on the Le Guilvinec / PieterJan, incident (on a damp day in Brest):



GT Orca places PieterJan in deep water. Between the 1000m and 100m contours. On the longitude of the Raz de Sein, at a latitude of Belle Ile. So, perhaps, there is yet hope, for us Biscay port-hoppers. Who will usually be sailing in 20 - 50m. Often within the 'magic' 20m contour. If venturing no further offshore than Oleron, Re, Yeu and Belle Ile.
The 'long hop,' from Oleron / the Gironde to ports between Bilbao and Gijon, is a different matter. For most of that you're off the shelf. No depth guage reading. Lots of tuna leaping, dawn and dusk. One reason we've turned for home at La Rochelle for the past couple of years......



Although the Telegramme link (posted by @Roberto) mentions PieterJan being wooden, their picture shows a Dehler 39. As does the MarineTraffic profile of a PieterJan, which came round from Le Guilvinec to Loctudy, on the 17th. Fitting @westhinder 's update, on her being lifted for repairs in Loctudy. Information which may help clarify any questions about underwater profile / engineering of her steering gear.

 

[Boathook]

I saw my first tuna off Swanage on Thursday. Beautiful looking thing, persumably chasing fish. When will the orca follow or would they require many tuna to make it worth the effort ?

 

[stranded]

L

I saw my first tuna off Swanage on Thursday. Beautiful looking thing, persumably chasing fish. When will the orca follow or would they require many tuna to make it worth the effort ?

UK Recreational Tuna Fishery | British Sea Fishing

‘It’s a bucket-list fish’: bluefin tuna are back in British seas – and so are the fishing boats | Environment | The Guardian

 

[John_Silver]

The CA tracker page has all reports, back to 2022, showing for Biscay / Western Approaches:



Many fewer attacks / sightings than further south, thankfully (for those of us yet to venture ‘round the corner’).The eastern ‘boundary’ seemingly making a reasonable fit between the 100m and 200m depth contours. Albeit based on only a baker’s dozen of data points.

 

[chrishscorp]

I saw my first tuna off Swanage on Thursday. Beautiful looking thing, persumably chasing fish. When will the orca follow or would they require many tuna to make it worth the effort ?

They have been about for a few years in the Solent area and local fisherman have been catching them but my understanding is there is no quota for landing so they have to be thrown back, none of the fisherman I have spoken too have ever taken them home to eat, always thrown them back.....

I would guess the Orca need a reasonable number of tuna in the water to make it worth it for a pod to swim from the Brest area.

 

[webcraft]

Another yacht sunk last night. UK flagged boat.

Un velero se hunde cerca de Barbate tras el 'ataque' de unas orcas

 

[greeny]

Another yacht sunk last night. UK flagged boat.

Un velero se hunde cerca de Barbate tras el 'ataque' de unas orcas

Must have been shocking for the crew. Local reports show the vessel was 15 miles offshore, probably not in the 20m depth contour if their plotted position is correct. Attacked initially by one orca and then joined by 2 others. Both the rudder and the keel were attacked during the 2.5 hour attack. The orcas only left when the boat was partly submerged and liferaft was deployed.

 

[25931]

They have been about for a few years in the Solent area and local fisherman have been catching them but my understanding is there is no quota for landing so they have to be thrown back, none of the fisherman I have spoken too have ever taken them home to eat, always thrown them back.....

I would guess the Orca need a reasonable number of tuna in the water to make it worth it for a pod to swim from the Brest area.

I thought that tunny was something of a game fish in UK waters.

 

[WindyWindyWindy]

Having the firecrackers on board is not illegal in Spain, though it probably is in Portugal.

Since gunshots at regular intervals is a distress signal you could probably argue that as the intended use.

Keep them with the flares..

 

[webcraft]

Since gunshots at regular intervals is a distress signal you could probably argue that as the intended use.

Keep them with the flares..

No-one is ever going to be prosecuted for chucking a firecracker at an orca that is attacking their yacht. There would have to be a police boat there at the time.

Having them on board is not illegal in Spain. You could potentially get caught in a snap inspection in Portugal, but we have never been checked (other than at a distance) in nearly four years.

And - would you rather risk a fine, or your boat? Having firecrackers handy, and a windproof lighter, is a bit of a no-brainer really.

The problem is seeing them and acting BEFORE they hit your boat and damage it, particularly at night. Avoid the hotspots or risk your boat and the lives of your crew.

The way for the authorities to get off this ridiculous hook would be to license an 'official' orca deterrent, to be kept with the flares, but the eco-nutter lobby is powerful and noisy. Someone will have to die first.

(And - the RYA and CA aren't being very helpful on the firecracker issue either)

 

[franksingleton]

Must have been shocking for the crew. Local reports show the vessel was 15 miles offshore, probably not in the 20m depth contour if their plotted position is correct. Attacked initially by one orca and then joined by 2 others. Both the rudder and the keel were attacked during the 2.5 hour attack. The orcas only left when the boat was partly submerged and liferaft was deployed.

It is some 15 years sine we were coming back up the coast of Iberia. Our rule was to keep outside the 100 m line to avoid the worst of the pots. Now, it seems, you have the choice of the devil and the deep blue sea.

 

[webcraft]

It is some 15 years sine we were coming back up the coast of Iberia. Our rule was to keep outside the 100 m line to avoid the worst of the pots. Now, it seems, you have the choice of the devil and the deep blue sea.

The Orcas are certainly filling the bill of Devil quite nicely.

 

[GHA]

The way for the authorities to get off this ridiculous hook would be to license an 'official' orca deterrent, to be kept with the flares, but the eco-nutter lobby is powerful and noisy.

istr seeing work is going on with the scientific community & authorities developing deterrent tech but they are keeping quiet about it, plenty nutters at both ends of the scale. Meanwhile nearly everyone seems to get on fine keeping inside the 20m contour, weird that some people just ignore that & get nibbled, must be difficult not to have heard about it. Go out to sea you are going into the wilderness, wild animals live there..

 

[webcraft]

istr seeing work is going on with the scientific community & authorities developing deterrent tech but they are keeping quiet about it, plenty nutters at both ends of the scale. Meanwhile nearly everyone seems to get on fine keeping inside the 20m contour, weird that some people just ignore that & get nibbled, must be difficult not to have heard about it. Go out to sea you are going into the wilderness, wild animals live there..

Sailing between Lagos and Gib in the shallows is pretty straightforward, and we regularly cruise from Lagos to Ayamonte without crossing the 20m contour. It is not something I would do from choice in an onshore wind though if the orcas were behaving normally. But it is hard to cross the Strait of Gibraltar or head to the Azores, Madeira, Canaries etc. and keep inside the 20m contour.

Wild animals have always lived in the sea, but you know perfectly well that this is new behaviour. Up until 2020 the number of boats worldwide damaged by sea mammals annually was in small single figures.

And rogue predators that attack humans are frequently put down, even when they are a protected species. Using a sonic deterrent is common sense, better than waiting until someone dies and there is a massive overreaction. Non need for research, fish farms have been using seal bombs for years and there is ample evidence that firecrackers or similar work. They have been used to manoevre sea mammals away from oil spills.

 

[GHA]

And rogue predators that attack humans are frequently put down, even when they are a protected species.

Not in the wilderness they don't, we're going into their wilderness domain with no need to do so other than to play in our plastic toys with shouts of "something must be done!!" cause they are spoiling our playtime. Just another example of what a destructive, violent, arrogant species of animal lacking in empathy we are
Though it's a ray of positivity just how many cruisers agree that it's their ocean & down to us to keep clear of the tiny little bit of it where the problems occur, no great hardship, everyone else manages it.
Hopefully soon they will get bored of that game ( it ain't rogue) and find another then it will all be forgotten

 

[webcraft]

Not in the wilderness they don't, we're going into their wilderness domain with no need to do so other than to play in our plastic toys with shouts of "something must be done!!" cause they are spoiling our playtime. Just another example of what a destructive, violent, arrogant species of animal lacking in empathy we are

Your toy is plastic? Sorry, I thought it was steel.

~ We have as much right to be at sea as the orcas.

~ We have co-existed peacefully for decades. it is the Iberian orcas who are the aggressors, not yachties.

~ If the orcas cannot co-exist peacefully then they must be prepared face the consequences. Allegedly they are intelligent enough to understand the potential consequences of their actions.

~ I am afraid that those of us who hate ourselves a little less see that it is the orcas who are a destructive, violent, arrogant species. They kill for fun, torment and torture other species - yet it is humans you seem to loathe and despise.

Weird.

 

[GHA]

crikey....

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Apologies if this one is already noted.

British-registered yacht sinks off south coast of Spain following 'encounter' with killer whales | Sur in English

BONHOMME WILLIAM Current position (Sailing vessel, MMSI 235016928) - VesselFinder

zoom if required to find location

 

[GHA]

Apologies if this one is already noted.

British-registered yacht sinks off south coast of Spain following 'encounter' with killer whales | Sur in English

BONHOMME WILLIAM Current position (Sailing vessel, MMSI 235016928) - VesselFinder

Discussed above. Vast majority of people listen to the advice & stay within the 20m contour with no problems, where they are feeding day to day is known & the info is freely available, hard to understand why anyone would go straight through >
orcas.pt - Orcas / Sailing boats in Portugal and Spain

 

[webcraft]

The narrative that this is all the fault of yachtsmen has to stop. Sailors in the area have tolerated it for far too long.

A 16 year old girl was killed by a bear in Romania last week, where bears are a protected species. The bear was hunted down and killed within 24 hours.

Orcas are more intelligent than bears, and very communicative. It should be relatively easy to convey to them that this behaviour is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated.

Sadly we all know this will only jappen when the inevitable human death occurs.

And even then there will be those self-loathing/virtue signalling humans who will insist it was all the yacht skipper's fault.


Man is the apex predator on the world's seas and has been for centuries. The orca must find this tolerance of their behaviour hilarious.