Killer whales attack two racing boats off Gibraltar

A pod of killer whales crashed into two boats participating in The Ocean Race in the Strait of Gibraltar on June 22.

Killer whales collided with the JAJO and Mirpuri Trifork Racing boats, according to The Ocean Race. The 15-minute encounter with at least three killer whales forced the crew to lower sails and increase noise levels to scare them away. Although no one was injured, it was still a frightening experience, according to JAJO captain Jelmer van Beek. He said three killer whales rammed into the boat's rudder.

As the pod of killer whales approached the VO65-class catamaran, Team JAJO was approaching the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea during a race from the Netherlands to Italy. In video taken by the crew, one killer whale can be seen nudging the rudder while another rams its head into the bow of the boat.

Knowing that killer whales were likely to be in the area, the sailors lowered the sails to slow the boat from its 14 mph (22.2 km/h) racing speed. They also made lots of noise to scare the whales away, but they dropped from second to fourth place in the Hague-to-Genoa leg of the race. “The killer whales were more aggressive when we were going fast. Once we slowed down, they started attacking more gently,” Beek said.

Scientists have recorded a number of incidents of killer whales ramming or damaging ships off the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Averaging 5-6.5 m in length and weighing more than 3,600 kg, their behaviour is thought to stem from revenge or play. A team of marine scientists studying killer whales off Spain and Portugal identified 15 individuals involved in the attacks, including 13 calves, supporting the theory that they were playing. But two adult killer whales in the pod may support the theory that they were reacting to past injuries, possibly from collisions with ships.

The Ocean Race is a six-month, 59,000-kilometer round- the-world race involving 60 boats over seven legs. Although the race sails through marine reserves, whales are sometimes encountered. A boat in this year’s Ocean Race issued a distress call after hitting a whale off the coast of Newfoundland in May, injuring two crew members.

An Khang (According to CTV News )

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