A new orca ‘attack’ (in some quarters referred to as an ‘interaction’) has scuttled yet another sailing boat off the Portuguese coast.
The boat, belonging to the Nautic Squad club (exclusively for skippers), based in Oeiras, appears to have been visited by only one orca. But its actions under the hull were enough to see the vessel disappear beneath the waters, just off the Costa da Caparica (Almada) this morning.
The site where the boat sank has been marked by buoys (thus it is possible that it will be recovered).
This is the third boat sinking following ‘interactions’ involving orcas – but many, many more have been damaged, some very seriously.
The last sinking – off Viana do Castelo in 2022 – saw crewmembers admit that they feared for their lives.
A comment on one of the social media groups set up for sailors navigating along the Iberian coast, reveals that orca attacks happen every year “in the exact same stretch” as this morning’s incident.
“We were terrorized every day for 4 weeks last year while transiting down for the Arc.. Lots of damaged boats.. even an air lift to hospital for one poor lady.. A very real problem !!” Says one commentator.
The first boat to sink in Portuguese waters appears to have been that of a French family, off the coast near Sines, also in 2022.
This is a phenomenon that only began around the time of the pandemic. It is being studied. Much has been announced by way of ‘advice’ to sailors on how to react when visited by orcas, but very little seems to change (for the better, that is).
As sailors are agreeing today, authorities will only act when someone dies – and thankfully today’s drama was not that occasion: the crew were all picked up by boats in the vicinity, some of which will have filmed what happened.
Source: SIC/ Facebook
