Orca attack
- Thread starter Sailfree
- Start date
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Has anyone produced a chart showing the location of all known attacks?
Sandy
Well-known member
steve yates
Well-known member
Its funny, hikers and climbers in the american and canadian wildernesses get attacked and killed by bears on occasion. They don't start calling for a cull, they know these are the accompanying risks involved in their sport.
Maybe sailors should take the same attitude, or is it because this is really about property damage and thats never acceptable ? Its still safer than driving.
Maybe sailors should take the same attitude, or is it because this is really about property damage and thats never acceptable ? Its still safer than driving.
billskip
Well-known member
It's about human nature..always looking to kill.
Which other animal builds bombs, guns, starts wars?
Graham376
Well-known member
Slightly different scenario, bear attacks in most cases can be stopped with pepper spray or the noise of warning shots or, as a last resort, a kill shot. Orcas are more akin to a submarine stealth attack and we're not supposed to scare them off or injure them.
alexsailor
Active member
Could be, but if orcas would swim around my sinking boat that they attacked, goodnight stories won’t help me.
I’ll do anything to protect my life and the life of the crew.
Killing orcas (or somalian pirates) would not be a problem in such a situation.
Even if they start hitting my rudder. Should I wait for water to pour in?
I would welcome any advice as long it is not about “preserving animal spices” in such a situation.
steve yates
Well-known member
I was referring to the calls for a cull, not individual defensive actions. Fill your boots. I would personally be reversing at them or chucking over firecrackers if I had them.
Same way as I would shoot a bear if it was coming for me. Doesnt mean I want bears cleared from the wilderness, and I dont want orcas cleared from the sea.
By the way, Id rather be in a boat with orcas at my rudder than in the woods with a bear running at me!
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Thanks it's interesting that apart from June July which unfortunately is a popular time to cross that most of the interactions are inshore which is contrary to the advice to use inshore routing.
webcraft
Well-known member
webcraft
Well-known member
Most of the attacked boats were day sailing, which is current advice.
Current advice is to day sail only and stay inside the 20m contour where possible. There have been few attacks in shallow water, but much of the coastline is hazardous to approach closely.
Atlantic Iberia is not some sort of sailing wilderness only there for people to pass by well offshore, it is a very popular cruising ground in its own right.
- W
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Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
You would find that when an animal be it a bear, lion, tiger or other species in any part of the world, kills a human it is hunted and killed also when people venture into areas of high risk they go prepared and ultimately will kill the attacking animal. Bears will almost always avoid man unless hungry similarly the big cats, that's the difference the Orcas seem to hunt and attack the boat if they interact.
Imagine after having abandoned your sinking boat into your life raft with an Orca or two circling and then upending it. There are plenty of videos of Orcas attacking seals in the water and on ice flows, a human would not be much different. It will happen.
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Yes I appreciate that and it does seem to be the problem of transiting the Spanish and Portuguese coast line and making landfall in northern Spain if crossing the bay in June / July and August which seems to be the period of most attacks obviously related to numbers of boats. However when you look at the number of attacks it is clearly a significant problem and with at least two boats sunk it is only going to get worse, unfortunately I can't see either the Spanish or Portuguese authorities taking any positive action it will be a case of looking after yourself and hoping that your insurance covers any loss. The next thing will be a significant increase in insurance premium for crossing and cruising the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
markspark7
Active member
Very few shark attacks are deliberate attacks on humans, to the shark , especially when on a surf board and wearing black wet suits, we look and paddle like injured seals, especially when seen from below. Was wondering if the slow moving yachts' with there dark painted fin keels look like a dead or dying marine mammal . Orcas are well known for tormenting seals and small sharks for hours before actually killing them. Surprising there are no attacked on MOBO's as the Orcas are fast enough to keep up with most Mobo's ....Just the thoughts of a rambling old man.
PS remember though, the Orca's where here well before we where, stick to the marina if you are scared of the risks . I'm more worried about fishing nets, lobster pot and stray containers than I am Orca's or sharks for that matter.
PS remember though, the Orca's where here well before we where, stick to the marina if you are scared of the risks . I'm more worried about fishing nets, lobster pot and stray containers than I am Orca's or sharks for that matter.
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If a bear attcks a human in the US or Canada it is tracked down and shot. That's what happened to the bear that killed Grizzlyman, along with another bear that was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
steve yates
Well-known member
No, that will not happen in the examples I gave. A lion or tiger would be if it took a villager, as would a bear if it came into town hunting humans, both are an entirely different scenario to leisure users crossing their natural habitat and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of my club mates has the dubious infamy of having punched a grizzly in the face while being attacked. (he didnt actually punch it, he was slapping it, but the media loved the right hook idea) and there was no question of it ever being hunted down. Nor should there have been.
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Your mate wasn't killed by the bear, if he had been the bear would have been tracked and shot.
steve yates
Well-known member
No one has been killed by an orca. Ever.
Edited to add the caveat, in the wild
Edited to add the caveat, in the wild
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
No one has been killed by an orca. Ever.
Edited to add the caveat, in the wild
Yet
webcraft
Well-known member
The reason for the attacks is largely irrelevant. Orcas and yachts co-existed quite happily before 2020. This is new, learned behaviour and needs to be discouraged.
If you sail on the Atlantic Iberian coast and do not worry about orcas then you are foolish.
- W