AMERICANALMANAC (Charles McAdams) - Orcas rip rudder off sailboat in eight-minute encounter off the Spanish coast
A pod of young killer whales tore away half the rudder of a racing sailboat off Spain in an eight-minute assault, the latest in a pattern of orca-on-vessel encounters that has rattled mariners since 2020. The Seika Racing crew had just finished a regatta near San Vicente, Spain, and were motoring their boat to another […] The post Orcas rip rudder off sailboat in eight-minute encounter off the Spanish coast appeared first on American Almanac .
A pod of young killer whales tore away half the rudder of a racing sailboat off Spain in an eight-minute assault, the latest in a pattern of orca-on-vessel encounters that has rattled mariners since 2020. The Seika Racing crew had just finished a regatta near San Vicente, Spain, and were motoring their boat to another marina when three to four orcas closed in on the stern. For roughly eight minutes the animals circled beneath the hull, repeatedly striking the rudder until they broke away approximately half of it. Crew member Gage Butler, a California native, captured the encounter on video and posted it on Instagram along with his account of what happened. Nobody aboard was hurt. The crew inspected the hull for leaks and found no major…Open