A pod of orcas has sunk one other yacht off the coast of Spain, this time close to the Strait of Gibraltar, in keeping with Polish sail coaching operator Morksie Mile. 

On October 31, because the yacht was westbound within the Strait simply off Morocco, it was “attacked by a herd of killer whales,” Morskie Mile reported. The whales repeatedly struck the rudder for 45 minutes, inflicting “damage and leakage.” The crew tried to avoid wasting the yacht, with help from port tugs and the Moroccan Navy, however the flooding was too critical. The crew safely deserted ship and the yacht went down off the port of Tangier Med.

By AIS information, the crusing yacht may be recognized because the Polish-flagged Grazie Mamma. It bought underneath means from Ceuta on the thirtieth and headed west, and its trackline was regular till the afternoon of the thirty first. At 1233, it deviated instantly from course, veering sharply to the north. It appeared to have problem sustaining heading, and its final AIS broadcast was obtained at about 1500 hours that afternoon. 

Full trackline: Grazie Mamma deviates from course and ceases transmitting off Tangier Med (Courtesy Pole Star)

Grazie Mamma was a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 449 measuring simply over 13 meters in size. This suits the final description of the vessels focused by orcas off Spain: According to researchers, the assaults all the time goal crusing yachts measuring lower than 15 meters lengthy, normally whereas underneath means.

Vessels of this sort have small props and huge rudders, and a few scientists who’ve studied the assault sample consider that it’s a type of play: the whales – recognized by their markings as three particular juvenile orcas, all from the identical pod – might merely get pleasure from slamming sailboat rudders to observe the boats spin round. (A competing principle, recommended by biologist Alfredo López Fernández of the University of Alviedo, is that an orca was injured by a vessel in some unspecified time in the future up to now and its household is taking revenge.)

Sometimes these encounters off Spain are exceptional however innocent; generally they consequence in actual harm, and the Grazie Mamma will not be the primary boat sunk by the assaults. So far, although, the habits doesn’t seem like an try to hunt or hurt crewmembers. There has by no means been a documented case of a human dying from an orca assault within the wild.

That could also be of little consolation to the house owners of misplaced and broken yachts just like the Grazie Mamma. “This yacht was for us all the best things in sea sailing. Long-standing friendships were formed on board,” stated Morskie Mile in a press release. “Very good memories will be transferred to Grazie Mamma II.”