A pod of orcas attacked two boats on June 22 during The Ocean Race in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Team JAJO faced off against the pod of orcas. (Video: The Ocean Race).
The orcas aggressively struck the racing boats of team JAJO and Mirpuri Trifork Racing, according to representatives from The Ocean Race. The encounter lasted 15 minutes, during which at least three orcas forced the crew to lower their sails and make loud noises to drive them away. Although no one was injured, it was a terrifying experience, said Captain Jelmer van Beek of team JAJO. He noted that three orcas rammed directly into the boat’s rudder.
As the pod of orcas approached the single-masted VO65 yacht, team JAJO was nearing the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea during the race from the Netherlands to Italy. In a video recorded by a crew member aboard, one orca nudged the rudder while another collided head-on with the bow of the boat.
Knowing they might encounter orcas in these waters, the sailors lowered their sails to slow the boat down from the racing speed of 22.2 km/h. They also made loud noises to deter the pod but dropped from second to fourth place in the leg of the race from The Hague to Genoa. “The orcas were more aggressive when we were moving fast. Once we slowed down, they started to attack more gently,” Beek explained.
Scientists have noted an increase in incidents of orcas striking or damaging boats off the western coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Averaging 5 to 6.5 meters in length and weighing over 3,600 kg, their behavior is believed to stem from either revenge or playfulness. A group of marine scientists studying orcas off the coasts of Spain and Portugal identified 15 individuals involved in these attacks, including 13 juveniles, which supports the theory that they are playing. However, the presence of two adult orcas in the pod may suggest they are reacting to past trauma, possibly from collisions with boats.
The Ocean Race is a six-month, round-the-world race covering 59,000 km, featuring 60 participating boats across seven legs. Even while navigating around marine protected areas, racing yachts sometimes collide with whales. One boat in this year’s Ocean Race signaled an alarm after striking a whale off the coast of Newfoundland in May, injuring two crew members.
