21 August 2022: Well folks, here we are. Starting our 9th year at Maritime Maunder. Today's post is number 496! When we began, we offered a new post daily; that lasted about 1 year and the realization hit that once a week was a good routine to start and here we are, still putting up something new and, hopefully, interesting once a week on average. And yes, there have been times when that didn't quite work out, but overall, we've been pretty regular and faithful to you, our readers. And you have responded by reading our posts and offering mostly kind remarks and comments. Thank you all for your interest.
Something a bit different today to begin our 9th year; orcas attacking boats. If anyone has seen an orca or killer whale as it is also known, it is not something you soon forget. They are impressive creatures which inhabit, besides marine parks, the colder waters - Alaska, North Sea and other bodies where hypothermia is a real risk for us humans; but the orcas love it! And it appears of late they don't like sharing their oceans with us humans and our boats.
From the INSIDER:
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Orcas sank a sailboat and ram another on the same morning. Scientists are looking for answers, reports say.
A pod of orcas attacked a sailboat off the coast of Portugal on July 31 and, just hours later, targeted another vessel in the same area, according to reports.
The first incident, which local media described as
"very much worse than usual," saw orcas ram a small sailboat carrying
five people approximately seven miles off the coast of Sines, Portugal.
Orca attacks have sometimes immobilized sailboats, but local media said that, in this instance, it caused so much damage that the vessel started to sink.
The five crew members, who were on vacation, per The Sun, made it onto life rafts and radioed for help. A nearby fishing vessel was able to rescue them, according to a statement by the Portuguese Navy.
Unusually, another orca attack took place nearby just a few hours later.
Newsweek reported that the second orca attack involved a small sailboat with two passengers aboard.
The passengers, who were sleeping at the time of the attack, were traveling from Lisbon to the Algarve, per the local media outlet Portugal Resident.
The orcas, which can grow up to 26 feet long, struck the boat and bit the rudder, immobilizing it, the Portugal Resident said. It was towed to the dry dock.
According to the Portugal Resident, more than 200 attacks by orcas against vessels have been recorded along Portugal and Spain's Iberian Peninsula since 2020.
Scientists are looking into the growing number of orca attacks, the media outlet said, to determine if the killer whales are acting out of curiosity, mischief, or revenge.
Insider previously reported in 2020 about a series of aggressive actions by orcas along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. At the time, experts told The Observer that the whales might have been mounting deliberate attacks, perhaps indicating high levels of stress.
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Further to this story, I seem to recall a recent piece in a Florida outlet about an Orca in a marine park (Sea World?) which attacked its trainer - to the detriment of the trainer (as you might expect!). So, if you are at sea in a small boat in colder waters, be watchful - not that there is much you can do if you see a pod of killer whales heading for you, but be sure your life saving gear and abandon ship bag are handy!
Until next time,
Fair winds,
Old Salt
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