The orca problem continues in the Mediterranean Sea.
After an anomaly encounter in France last week, marking the northern-most interaction between whales and yachts by over 1500 kilometers, another encounter in the Mediterranean Sea has sunk a yacht.
Robert Powell, 59, said five orcas encircled his 39-foot sailboat Bonhomme William "like wolves" and took turns smashing into it off the coast Spain. The vessel was a fibreglass-hulled Beneteau 393.
“My lovely boat has been sunk off the coast of Spain,” Powell said in a personal Facebook post. “They split the hull above the keel and at the rear by the rudder.”
The vessel was reportedly valued around £128,000 ($164,000 USD).
The orcas began their attack around 8 pm on July 24th, forcing Powell to radio for help once it became clear the whales had damaged the boat. After significant damage to the keel and rudder, Powell said the vessel had no steering and began to take on water.
As their vessel was being hit, the Spanish salvage ship Salvamar Enif was radioed and made plans to tow the Bonhomme William to shore. Shortly thereafter, Powell radioed again to say that the boat was listing. The crew of the Salvamar Enif brought Powell and his two crew aboard via their life raft before having to leave the vessel to sink in roughly 130 feet of water.
Powell said he was 22 hours into a trip from Portugal to Greece with two additional crew when the orcas approached his vessel two miles offshore.
Powell and his crew were returned to shore at Barbate, on Spain's southern coast and northwest of the Strait of Gibraltar.
“My training worked well, I was calm, organized, and purposeful,” Powell wrote in a Facebook comment. “That was then, now I am a bit traumatized.”
The ongoing issue of orca encounters around the Strait of Gibraltar continues to gain steam. There are now over 700 'interactions' reported between whales and yachts, with at least six vessels being sunk.
The advocacy group GT Orca Atlantica maintains an interactive map showing where the date and location of each encounter.
Various theories have been proposed by scientists, and a recent report from scientists with the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has stated they believe the behavior isn't aggressive but instead a learned 'playful' behavior that the orcas have taught among themselves.
“Sadly, these ones were not playing, it was a well-orchestrated and organized attack to sink my boat,” said Powell in a Facebook comment on his original post.
You can see footage of Bonhomme William as it was left by Powell in the video below:
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