Jean-Jacques Merer has been sailing his Océanis 54 for many years. This year, he decided to take it to Corsica with his friend Michel and his wife Chantal. At the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, they encounter orcas. They give us their account of what they consider to be "the orcas" an aggressive attack with the will to harm, far from a simple game ". Now stranded in port with a damaged rudder, this crew is also asking questions about the omerta that reigns over these sailing areas that have become unsafe. Here is his testimony.
Orca attack report
The events took place on July 22, 2023 at 6pm local time.
Our boat is an Oceanis 54 named Gaivota, and there are 3 of us on board. We were sailing from Portimao in Portugal to the marina of Sotogrande in Spain, 10 miles south-east of Gibraltar. We're heading for Corsica via the Balearic Islands, from Porto.
Close to Gibraltar
That evening, we were 1 mile southeast of the Rock of Gibraltar and had just passed the few cargo ships anchored in the area, in 35 meters of water. We're under sail with 2 reefs in the mainsail and no genoa, without a motor, in a 30-knot NW crosswind. Our boat is making between 7 and 8 knots at this downwind speed.
Around us appear 3 orcas: one large and 2 smaller. They have arrived suddenly in the immediate vicinity of the boat. The orcas began by attacking the keel with blows. We immediately lowered the sail and switched off the electronics, so as not to get any echo sounder. From then on, we didn't make any maneuvers whatsoever. The boat remained inert.
Not a game, but a lot of violence
The killer whales immediately started banging away at the hull and keel. Then one of them went after the rudder. There was nothing friendly about it, it was very violent. There was a clear desire to damage the rudder, if not the boat. It went on for 10 to 15 minutes, and stopped when the cable tiller broke with a loud thud. We also hit 3 smoke bombs, which burned out in the water.
Pinger uselessness
It's also worth noting that we were shooting a pinger, an ultrasonic repellent designed to repel orcas. We'd been lugging it around since we left Porto. This equipment obviously didn't bother them.
Mayday!
We immediately put out a Mayday on 16. There was a tug in the area which immediately positioned itself for over an hour next to our boat, waiting for the sea rescuers to come and assist us and tow us to the port of Gibraltar. When we lifted the floorboards, we didn't discover any water ingress. As far as we were concerned, the rudder was gone, so we didn't attempt to install the emergency helm. With no steering, the tow was sometimes tense, but the rescuers moored us on the quay of the Alcaidesa marina at nightfall. The tow, which lasted 3 hours, finally went off without a hitch, except perhaps for a few difficulties at the end of the route, zigzagging between the cargo ships at anchor at the entrance to the port.
No mutual aid between boaters
A special mention goes to the rescue services, both the tug and the assistance boat, who demonstrated remarkable professionalism and kindness. The same cannot be said for the boaters on the water. Two speedboats (one navy blue and one white, each around 11 m long) were less than 500 m from us. They superbly ignored us and quickly left for Gibraltar, despite calls on 16 and smoke bombs. Come on, let's get out of here!
The next morning, I dived in and found that the rudder was still there, but badly damaged: the lower third completely delaminated and torn off. The steering lines are completely broken.
Russian roulette to pass Gibraltar?
On the same day, another yacht was damaged at the entrance to Gibraltar, and another the day before near the port. We have also learned that there is at least one attack in the area every 2 days, and that some forty sailboats have been attacked and damaged around Gibraltar since the beginning of the year, not counting other interactions without damage or unreported. In addition, the locals told us that the pod of orcas that attacked us had been identified and located in the area for 10 days...
Keeping you informed...
One wonders about the action of the authorities. How is it that a notice to shipping informing sailors and their crews of the reality of the situation and the real dangers of passing Gibraltar has not been issued? Are they waiting for people to die? Indeed, one wonders what would happen in the event of a fall overboard during the attacks?
It would seem that there is a desire to underestimate, or play down, the situation, or even to hide the reality of things. The problem is that there is a risk to people and property, not to mention the human and financial consequences for the victims - who are not the orcas...
