Orca attack

[PabloPicasso]

I saw someone paint a broad black and white zigzag on their rudder to put off the orca

Not sure how/why they thought it might work?

Perhaps wrap mirror finish foil around the rudder?

 

[Sandydog2]

They seem to go for the shape of rudders so surely worth a try breaking up the outline. They haven’t got great colour vision so using black and white makes sense. It might help, especially if the water is murky.

 

[ducked]

They seem to go for the shape of rudders so surely worth a try breaking up the outline. They haven’t got great colour vision so using black and white makes sense. It might help, especially if the water is murky.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...azzle_2.jpg/1280px-HMS_President_Dazzle_2.jpg

Trying, but a bit too much colour in the wrong places

 

[ducked]

Meanwhile, on the underwater speakers...

That'll learn em

 

[ducked]

I saw someone paint a broad black and white zigzag on their rudder to put off the orca

Not sure how/why they thought it might work?

You of all people? How quickly they forget

"The abstract patterns in dazzle camouflage inspired artists including Picasso. He claimed credit for camouflage experiments, which seemed to him a quintessentially Cubist technique. In a conversation with Gertrude Stein shortly after he first saw a painted cannon trundling through the streets of Paris he remarked, "Yes it is we who made it, that is cubism".

 

[ducked]

There was, and largely is, remarkably little actual evidence on the effectiveness of different camouflage schemes,

That may be changing with some of the latest trendy "digital" or "pixillated" schemes getting some objective evaluation.

How to hide a tank: digital camouflage - Global Defence Technology | Issue 121 | March 2021

Of course this evaluation is against a human enemy, sensor, and perhaps AI threat, Data and techniques for evaluation against Orca probably dont exist (though there has been some military work with cetaceans, mostly dolphin, much of it is probably classified) and would be rather difficult to acquire.

It isn't always just about concealment anyway

"Another benefit of the camouflage was the morale boost it provided personnel, which has generated wider excitement for the project."

 

[Daydream believer]

They seem to go for the shape of rudders

Are you sure that is correct. Whilst yachts with spade rudders may have been attacked in numerically greater numbers, there are also cases of various types of commercial fishing boats being harrassed. I doubt that they have foil shaped spades.
Of course I may be wrong & investigation may prove otherwise

 

[ducked]

Come to think ont, I wonder about a military training origin for this behaviour. (May already have been suggested up-thread somehere, I havn't read the whole thing)

The USN is on record as having used Orca, one of which, Ishmael, escaped, according to this site, though thats probably too far away and long ago to itself be the origin.

United States Navy Marine Mammal Program

I've also seen a recent report,,,er...somewhere, of a stray Beluga turning up wearing a harness, presumed to be a deserter from a Russian programme.

Suspected Russia-trained spy whale reappears off Sweden’s coast

Ukrainian use of marine drones might motivate the Russians to expand such work, leading to more escapes, but Beluga probably wouldnt be suitable for Black Sea operations.

Unclear why escapees would turn up in Spanish waters, but perhaps its not only British bank robbers that retire there.

(Incidentally its World Whale Day, according to Microsoft)

 

[Koeketiene]

Now in Biscay - off the Basque country.

 

[Graham376]

 

[Thresher]

From their chart, it looks like they were in 60m of water in an Orca hotspot.

 

[Graham376]

From their chart, it looks like they were in 60m of water in an Orca hotspot.

From memory, the tuna net off Zahara beach goes right into shore so has to be passed to the south, in deeper water than advised.

 

[greeny]

From memory, the tuna net off Zahara beach goes right into shore so has to be passed to the south, in deeper water than advised.

Pretty sure Zahara net has been removed for the season now so going inshore is possible if i'm right. Would need to check on orcas.pt to be certain.

 

[Koeketiene]

From their chart, it looks like they were in 60m of water in an Orca hotspot.

This guy seems to agree.

Also according to this clip, this is not the first yacht Halcyon have 'lost' to Orca attacks.

 

[ducked]

Wondered about electrical cables in the water next to the rudder. I was assuming the Orca would be more conductive than the seawater, but my ＡＩｒｅｃｋｏｎｓ　Ｉ’ｍ　ｆｕｌｌ　ｏｆ　ｉｔ．

Ｓｅａｗａｔｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｉｖｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｕｍａｎ　ｂｏｄｙ，　ａｎｄ　Ｏｒｃａ　ｓｋｉｎ　ｉｓ　ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｒｅｓｉｓｔａｎｔ，　ｓｏ　ｍａｙｂｅ　ｎｏｔ．

Ｐｅｒｈａｐｓ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｗｏｒｔｈ　ａ　ｔｒｙ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ？

 

[geem]

This guy seems to agree.

Also according to this clip, this is not the first yacht Halcyon have 'lost' to Orca attacks.

The advice from those that have been attacked seems to be to run the engine flat out. He did everything but that

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

This guy seems to agree.

Also according to this clip, this is not the first yacht Halcyon have 'lost' to Orca attacks.

While it's easy to criticise a skipper from the comfort of our homes and with the benefit of hindsight, the decisions made during a challenging offshore passage are rarely as simple as they may seem.

Orca interactions with yachts have only been occurring since 2020, and reports have risen steadily each year. Even with growing data, the advice to sailors remains inconsistent and sometimes conflicting. The Cruising Association notes that while many theories have been put forward, the scientific understanding is still evolving. The Atlantic Orca Working Group provides useful resources, including risk maps and recommended response protocols, such as stopping the engine, disengaging autopilot, and avoiding interaction with the rudder — yet these recommendations are still under review, especially following a June 2025 incident in just 16 metres of water.

Halcyon Yachts has been delivering yachts around the world for over 20 years and upholds the highest standards of professionalism, with skippers holding the most advanced commercial qualifications in the industry. We regularly update our team with the latest orca-related guidance and direct them to sources such as orcas.pt. We are also one of the few yacht delivery companies who openly share footage from our deliveries. Our aim is to offer insight into offshore sailing and contribute to a more informed sailing community.

We document orca encounters and other challenges not only for transparency, but also to help others learn from real-world situations. While the video in question presents a strong opinion, it contains assumptions and lacks first-hand information from the skipper involved. The creator did not reach out to Halcyon Yachts for clarification before publishing a highly critical review.

We deliver many many yachts through this area without incident.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

This was a very harrowing experience for the guys on board. They very nearly lost the yacht due to water ingress and were minutes away from having to get into the liferaft! Not a very nice place to be with orcas circling...

One of the crew said the following:

"I’d like to expressly thank the skipper - his decisive and skillfull actions, getting and staying in touch with the coast guard immediately, ensuring our safety and making sure we did what we could do until the rescue boat arrived, ensured that there was no panic on board, just decisive action... I will be happy to crew for him anytime and anywhere!"

Pete

 

[greeny]

As a skipper you make your own risk assessment and route accordingly. Personally I would not have been out in 60 metres depth and would certain have the engine on full ahead heading for shallow water. That seems to be the accepted wisdom down here in Portugal and has been for some time. Stay shallow, avoid interaction and if you do meet them then get out of their feeding area as fast as you can.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

Here's another video of the same incident. They lost steering very quickly. The film shows the rescue team including a helicopter to bring a bigger water pump... They were minutes away from needing to get into the liferaft.

Pete