ORCA RAMPAGE
Brit’s yacht is SUNK in another shocking orca attack as vid shows vessel go under in ‘White Gladis’s’ hunting ground
Five orcas were said to have disabled the steering and then sunk the yacht
A BRITISH yachtsman has posted video footage of his boat sinking after it was attacked by orcas in a hunting ground where White Gladis prowls.
Robert Powell and two others on the Bonhomme William had to be rescued by coastguards after their vessel capsized in the Strait of Gibraltar.
6
6
6
6
6
The orcas are said to have disabled the yacht's steering, tipping the boat over, with water gushing on board.
Spanish coastguards rushed to the scene between the southern towns of Tarifa and Barbate in a dramatic rescue operation last night.
The London-based managing director showed his yacht sinking into the sea in agonising social media posts.
Powell said: “Bonhomme William my lovely boat has been sunk off the coast of Spain."
Read more on world news
“It was attacked at 8pm by a pod of five orcas.”
He told his worried friends in a subsequent message: “We were all rescued and are safe now”.
The attack could have come from a notorious pod of whales led by an orca dubbed 'White Gladis' - which is thought to have been attacking seafarers for at least three years.
Orca attacks on boats travelling through the Strait of Gibraltar - also known as Orca Alley - were first reported in 2020.
Most read in The Sun
Responding to recent claims by scientists the orcas are targeting yachts are playing games, Powell said: “Sadly these ones were not playing.
"It was a well-orchestrated and organised attack to sink my boat.”
A selection of the worst Orca attack on boats in 2023
A spokesman for the Spanish Coastguard Service said: “Yesterday evening a yacht a sailboat called Bonhomme William which was two miles off Camarinal Cape between Tarifa and Barbate reported that after interaction with orcas she needed to be towed as her steering system was inoperative.
“The skipper added that the three people on board were okay and the vessel was not taking on water.
“Our Tarifa centre mobilised coastguard vessel Salvamar Enif.
“The sailboat then called again to report the orcas were still interacting and it was now taking on water.
“The crew were told help was on its way and to prepare the water pump.
“Salvamar Enif reported when it was close to the other vessel’s position that it has seen two flares in the area followed by a parachute flare.
“On arrival it reported the life raft had been thrown into the water and the yacht had lost its waterline.
“The Salvamar Enif crew rescued the three people on board and reported they were all okay.
"It collected polluting liquids, the radio beacon, pyrotechnics and life raft before confirming the sailboat was sinking and heading to Barbate with the three people rescued.”
Why are orcas attacking boats?
WHILE researchers are unsure exactly why killer whales have been attacking boats in the strait, many theories have been put forward.
Some experts suggest it could be a playful manifestation of the animals' curiosity.
But others fear a "critical moment of agony" such as a collision may have sparked aggression towards boats.
Alfredo López Fernandez, a biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, told LiveScience: "That traumatized orca is the one that started this behaviour of physical contact with the boat."
Some even speculate White Gladis may now be spurring fellow killer whales on.
Orcas are the largest members of the oceanic dolphin family.
Although they never attack humans, the apex predators can take down large groups of whales, hence the name killer.
What makes them a unique marine mammal is that they often hunt in lethal pods and family groups of up to 40 individuals - and feast on fish, dolphins, seal lions, seals, sharks and stingrays.
The carnivores can grow up to 32feet long and weigh up to six tons - and are immediately recognizable by their distinctive black-and-white colouring.
These ambushes, which range from orcas simply approaching boats to actively interfering with them, have repeatedly occurred in the Strait of Gibraltar and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and north-western Spain.
Orca rammings often target monohull sailboats of less than 49feet in length with a spade rudder.
Around 50 per cent of the vessels orcas interact with suffer damage of some kind.
Experts believe the dangerous pods with about 15 orcas are seeking revenge for a killer whale supposedly hit by a boat.
But others have said the endangered mammals appear to be “playing” with the boats as part of a game.
Groups working for the conservation and management of orcas advise skippers who find themselves in the presence of orcas to slow down and stop their engine if possible, turn off autopilot and leave the rudder to track.
GT Orca Atlantic says: “Stopping the movement, stopping the engine and letting go of the rudder, towards the runway, causes them to drop their interest, ceasing the interaction, in most cases.”
At the start of the month another boat called Kelba had to be towed to port in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta after being targeted by orcas.
This followed an incident in which the orcas relentlessly pummeled the 50ft Alboran Cognac with two people onboard in May.
RECENT ATTACKS
A killer whale gang furiously attacked and sunk a boat near a Moroccan port last year in November.
The Polish company that was operating the boat said all attempts to rescue the yacht failed before it sunk.
The operator said the crew were "safe, unharmed, and sound" following the bizarre incident.
They said in a statement: "Despite attempts to bring the yacht to the port by the captain, crew and rescuers from the SAR (Search and Rescue), port tugs and the Moroccan Navy, the unit sunk near the entrance to the port of Tanger Med."
Another incident took place in August when a boat full of panicked tourists was attacked by a pod of killer whales.
Footage showed the horrified holidaymakers surrounded by several orcas just off the coast of Sesimbra, Portugal.
Last year, Brit couple Janet Morris, 58, and Stephen Bidwell, 58, from Cambridge, were involved in a whale attack that lasted for an hour.
On May 2, around six orcas reportedly rammed the hull of the Bavaria 46 cruiser yacht they were travelling on, on the Strait of Gibraltar.
Janet and Stephen were stunned when they were alerted with the cry of “orcas!”
Stephen told The Telegraph: “It was an experience I will never forget.
“I kept reminding myself we had a 22-ton boat made of steel, but seeing three of them coming at once, quickly and at pace with their fins out of the water was daunting.”
Janet added: “We were sitting ducks.”
“A clearly larger matriarch was definitely around and was almost supervising,” Stephen added, furthering speculation that it was White Gladis.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The captain of the boat, Greg Blackburn, from Leeds, dropped the mainsail to make the vessel feel “as boring as possible”.
The group of whales and their gang leader eventually lost interest - after causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
6