Sailing Crew Rescued After Orcas Attack Boat Off Spanish Coast
A pod of orcas severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of Spain on Thursday, May 24, forcing the boat’s crew to call for help. The incident is the latest in a series of reported attacks carried out by killer whales on vessels.
Sailing blogger April Boyes, a member of the four-person crew, captured the attack on video. Boyes said they were traveling from Azores to the Strait of Gibraltar when the attack occurred.
Boyes told Storyful that the crew initially turned off the engine after noticing a pod or orcas near the Strait of Gibraltar. The orcas then started to ram into the rudder and attacked the vessel for over an hour, destroying the rudder and piercing the hull. The crew was forced to call Spanish authorities, who rescued the crew and towed the boat back to port.
Though Boyes said the encounter was terrifying, the marine life advocate said that she does not believe in demonizing orcas. On her sailing blog. Boyes said more research could be done into these encounters and non-harmful deterrents can be put in place. Credit: April Boyes via Storyful
Video transcript
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Where's the rest? Where's the rest?
- He's [INAUDIBLE] now.
- Hold on. [INAUDIBLE]
- Yeah. Oh my god.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- 6 degrees North, 0556 West. Over. Can you read me?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Oh my god.
- [INAUDIBLE] this is sailing boat Mystic. Mystic, do you read me? Over. [INAUDIBLE]
Um, babe.
- Yes?
- We're being attacked by orcas. I don't know which-- uh, West. Over.
- Do you want to try the [INAUDIBLE] or--
- [INAUDIBLE]
- Is there anything you could put in the water to distract them?
- Huh?
- Sand or anything [INAUDIBLE]
- Want me to go inside to check? Any leaks?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Huh?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Yeah. Right. Great idea.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- There it is.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Where are they?
- There's one over there.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Well, maybe like round where the rudders are. That's what people were doing.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Can you remove the water in the [INAUDIBLE]?
- [GASPS]
Oh, my god.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Please go away.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Oh, my god. They're doing it again.
[SIGHS] There's no more water in the hatch.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- 337. 7, yeah. [INDISTINCT CHATTER] Sorry?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- A call sign?
- Call sign.
- A call sign, yeah. SPA.
- Oh, my god.
- So Sierra, Papa, Alpha.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER] Yeah.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- No.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [INAUDIBLE] Mystic in channel 16. We need assistance immediately.
- Immediately. Immediately.
- We need assistance immediately. We are sinking. We are sinking.
I sent the video out. [INAUDIBLE]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- This bilge pump is doing an amazing job--
- Yeah.
- --this electric one, and I got like a just in case.
- Yeah.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Exactly because I got a friend who had a problem with the rudder.
- Yeah.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Yeah. What can--
- This won't help any more, right? This won't help. It's coming a lot.
- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
- [INAUDIBLE]
- No.
- Stop, stop.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- That's 10 miles away.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [CHUCKLES]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- And so big area. Clear around there.
- Oh, my god. All the way up there. That's why there's so much water.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
