Orcas Force Family of Five to Abandon Yacht Off Portugal

A French family of five was rescued last week after their sailing yacht, Ti’fare, sank following an aggressive encounter with a pod of orcas roughly 50 nautical miles off Peniche, Portugal.

 

The vessel (carrying two parents and their three young children) issued a distress call on Friday after orcas repeatedly struck the yacht’s rudder, leaving the hull breached and the boat taking on water. The family launched their life raft and were soon picked up by the fishing vessel Silmar. The Portuguese Air Force dispatched a Merlin helicopter from Montijo to transfer them ashore; they were returned to land at about 2300 the same evening. Additional rescue units were sent to the area but ultimately were not required.

 

This incident is the second reported sinking of a sailing yacht by Iberian orcas within a month. Earlier, a pod struck the rudder of a sailing vessel near Fonte de Telha in daylight close to shore, causing the boat to spin and founder; that crew also abandoned ship and were rescued without injury. Over the weekend Spanish authorities towed two further yachts following encounters off Cabo Villano.

 

Researchers say the interactions appear focused on rudders of slow-moving sailing yachts with large control surfaces rather than on people. The behavior, which some scientists describe as play or learned copying within the pod, can nevertheless be dangerous for mariners. “They wouldn’t have sunk four or five like they have, they would have sunk the 600,” orca researcher Lamya Essemlali said, arguing that sinkings are not the apparent objective of the animals’ actions.

 

Despite the rarity of fatal attacks on humans by wild orcas, the string of incidents around the Iberian Peninsula has alarmed sailors and authorities, and sparked renewed calls for caution during passages through affected waters.

 

Source: Maritime Executive

Picture: Robert Pittman - NOAA