Orca attack

veshengro said:
Between 1996 and 2013 I made 7 return voyages to the Med, basically leaving Falmouth between early May or at latest mid July on a couple of occasions due to 'orrible weather. Single handed my destination was always about 10 Degrees 30 West with Finisterre abeam to Port. That position put me at least 50+ miles off Cape Finisterre which for a single hander has a number of benefits. Clear of inshore shipping and coastal Fishermen, sea room in the event of bad weather and usually, but not always as I got a couple of batterings, the sea state while rough is less confusing or more regular at least. 10-30 West is well to seaward ( 25-30 ? odd miles or so from memory ) of the Shelf where the soundings rapidly decrease.

Voyages homeward the next summer after wintering in the Med were always NW from Cape St Vincent on the Azores route until I found a favourable wind. Never got anywhere near the Azores as I always seemed to be lucky and get a South Westerly ( ish) after a few days, so I was well clear of their (current) hunting grounds anyway.

I only post this in the Orca discussion to support anyone thinking of the off shore route to the Med. I never saw an Orca in all those voyages on that route..although I'm aware that the rudder nibbling and unwelcome visits from Willie seem to have started in more recent years., which might be the case, as I never saw or had a visit from them even when cruising the Portuguese coast from Faro East and round to Gibraltar.
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Understood. However by way of balance I’ve made the trip from UK to Gibraltar a couple of times since Orcas became a potential threat. I’ve cut inside Oussant both times (for different reasons) and made A Coruna as a first stop. I’ve then stayed inshore down to Gibraltar. I too have yet to see an Orca although I saw and heard boats being towed in after being attacked and disabled in deeper waters.

(The route I described also avoids the shipping lane and I admit I did have the advantage of having crew.)
 
I've just been at a reception with someone who was on a boat that was attacked. Another sailor at the reception had told me that this person was in shallow water when the incident happened. This sparked my interest so I went and asked him the details. "Oh we were about five miles offshore in about 80-100 metres"

Not in shallow water at all then...
 
john_morris_uk said:
I've just been at a reception with someone who was on a boat that was attacked. Another sailor at the reception had told me that this person was in shallow water when the incident happened. This sparked my interest so I went and asked him the details. "Oh we were about five miles offshore in about 80-100 metres"

Not in shallow water at all then...
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The Power of Recieved Opinion
 
john_morris_uk said:
Not sure what point you’re making?
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I was suggesting that your story was an example of the power of received opinion, (but I misspelled it), to alter the representation or recall of reality to conform to the prevailing model.

Could also, I suppose, be described as conformation bias

(Or confirmation bias. Either works, but one of them is more confirmist)
 
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Latest from Orca.pt.
1 boat with damaged rudder, 1 boat with water entry, source VHF 16
13/09/2025 12:30 Attack 38°34.233'N 9°17.680'W North of Cabo Espichel #orcas
 
This is a real worry for all boaters planning to travel down that coastline as there is only so much you can do to avoid them (apart from not going anywhere near that coast, which is not always feasible).

I have made this journey a few times since these attacks started, and about to do it again, and it would be a lot better if this was not something to have to potentially plan for (actions to be taken such as countermeasures etc) along with the weather etc

In reality the only way to remove the risk would be to remove the Orcas, but that is not something that will happen (or even should be considered), although that may well change in the future if there are ever fatalities due to these 'interactions'.

DTD
 
I did a bit of research with chapGPT.
There is a pattern emerging of what type of boats sink from an orca attack.
See results below


Sunken yachts (name → date → place → make / model)​


  • Smousse — 1 Nov 2022 — off Viana do Castelo, Portugal — Beneteau Oceanis 393 (Oceanis Clipper 393).
  • (unnamed family/tourist yacht) — 31 Jul 2022 — off Sines, Portugal — make/model not publicly reported in official notices (reported only as a small/tourist sailboat that sank).
  • Champagne — 4 May 2023 — Strait of Gibraltar / off Gibraltar — Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 519 (reported by the sailing press).
  • Grazie Mamma II — 31 Oct 2023 — near Tanger-Med (Strait of Gibraltar) — Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449 (Polish-flagged operator Morskie Mile; AIS/track entries also exist).
  • Alboran Cognac — 12 May 2024 — southern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar (Moroccan waters reported) — ~15 m; reported in multiple outlets as a Sun Odyssey (reported as ~Sun Odyssey 519 / ~50 ft class).
  • Bonhomme William — 24 July 2024 — Strait of Gibraltar (between Barbate & Tarifa) — Beneteau / Oceanis 393 (often reported as Oceanis 393 / Oceanis 393 Clipper).

Spade rudders seem to be very vulnerable to sinking
 
Roberto said:
Impressive video, a few minutes and the boat is gone :(
Orcas afundam barco ao largo de Cascais. Segunda embarcação à deriva na Fonte da Telha
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A while back on this thread, I suggested the use of bear spray

I saw a few moments in that video where I think bear spray could have been employed.

The Orca came up to breathe just a few feet from the boat, and the stuff can be sprayed in a fairly targeted manner up to about 30ft.

It causes great discomfort for a while, but does not cause any lasting injury.

It works very well on Grizzly bears - usually they halt their attack immediately - and they are attacking for a reason; predation, protection of cubs.., not just playing as I imagine the Orca are.

I guess it's not available most places in Europe, but, like anything, it can probably be obtained somehow. If I was crossing from, say, the US where it is easy to get, and planning to sail in the the affected waters, I would probably bring a few cans of the stuff.

If I used it, I certainly wouldn't be posting it on youtube.

edit to add; bears that have been sprayed learn to avoid humans afterwards, so the spray could actually help solve the Orca "interaction" problem without any lasting harm to the Orca.
 
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geem said:
I thought the same. I was wondering if they had keel damage but loose keel bolt would likely weep not pour water in
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I've thought about it and was going to go back and delete my post.
I guess the boat would fill with water while still remaining level, at the point at which it is so full of water that it is definitely going down anything could happen.
 
Laser310 said:
A while back on this thread, I suggested the use of bear spray

I saw a few moments in that video where I think bear spray could have been employed.

The Orca came up to breathe just a few feet from the boat, and the stuff can be sprayed in a fairly targeted manner up to about 30ft.

It causes great discomfort for a while, but does not cause any lasting injury.

It works very well on Grizzly bears - usually they halt their attack immediately - and they are attacking for a reason; predation, protection of cubs.., not just playing as I imagine the Orca are.

I guess it's not available most places in Europe, but, like anything, it can probably be obtained somehow. If I was crossing from, say, the US where it is easy to get, and planning to sail in the the affected waters, I would probably bring a few cans of the stuff.

If I used it, I certainly wouldn't be posting it on youtube.

edit to add; bears that have been sprayed learn to avoid humans afterwards, so the spray could actually help solve the Orca "interaction" problem without any lasting harm to the Orca.
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Film I've seen, they dont seem to spend much time inhaling (like Bill Clinton, they are busy) so the timing would have to be good
 
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ducked said:
Free flooding (no watertight bulkheads, probably normal?) plus full chain rode and heavy anchor in the bows?
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I would have thought the engine would have been heavier and pulled it down more level. There was a yacht that had rudder failure in the Pacific last year that seemed to sink pretty level. I still think its odd to see this boat go down bow first.
 
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