“How killer whales sank our boat at the gates of the Mediterranean” VIDEO

It happened.
Five killer whales attacked and sank a British boat at the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, between Barbate and Tarifa, Spain, on July 24, 2024.
Aboard the Oceanis 393 Clipper Clipper Bonhomme William was experienced Milanese sailor (who earned the offshore YachtMaster) Marco Panza, 55.
Here is his hot report after the killer whale attack.

“Sunk by five killer whales.”

“We had left Vilamoura (in the Algarve, Portugal, ed.) for Corfu, where the owner (Englishman Robert Powell, ed.) wanted to transfer the boat for the summer vacation.
There were three of us on board, besides me and him there was also another person in charge of the galley. The Oceanis 393 Bonhomme William before the sinking caused by the killer whale attack[/] Tuesday evening, around 7 p.m., we were sailing between Barbate and Tarifa about 10 miles from the coast. Suddenly we heard banging under the rudder, which was so loud that it made the boat lurch.
We immediately thought of an attack by orcas . At first there were three of them, one adult and two smaller ones. We slowed down, perhaps erring in the excitement of the moment, because in case of attacks the advice is to give gas and head, as fast as possible to shallower waters. For a very short time, maybe a minute at most, we turned off the engine; when we turned it back on, the rudder was no longer responding.
The boat was turning clockwise, with no control.
Then boom, boom, more banging, and the boat was spinning counterclockwise.
The rudder was torn apart by the heads – or shoulders, I couldn’t tell – of the killer whales.

Five minutes after the attack, we called for help (the Spanish Coast Guard): initially we were not overly concerned, But the killer whales would not stop.
The attack lasted about 40 minutes.
Beatings, headbutts, dead-weight shoulders.
Believe me, those orcas were not playing around.
They were out to damage the boat! In the meantime, two more had joined us. We were at the mercy of five orcas.
While waiting for rescue, we found that the boat was starting to make water; after a while there were already two spans of them. Calmly, we lowered the tender with the engine and raft.
Calmly, and mostly with the hope that the orcas would not attack as well, with us on board .
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SodSg5yfqTg Dopo 40 minuti, le orche se ne sono andate, i soccorsi sono arrivati circa cinque minuti dopo.
Solitamente, in questi casi, si riesce a salvare la barca: ma per la nostra non è stato così.
La Guardia Costiera non è riuscita a trovare la falla e quindi a tamponare l’entrata d’acqua rendendo inutile l’utilizzo delle potenti pompe di sentine che avevano portato.
Per fortuna che il mare era calmo, e siamo riusciti a gestire la situazione con senno.
Sono anche tornato a bordo per recuperare portafogli e documenti, prima che la barca si inabissasse nel buio.
I soccorsi spagnoli sono stati efficienti e premurosi, a terra ci ha aspettato la Guardia Civil e ci ha fornito tutto l’aiuto necessario. They told us that before our case, they had already been called four times this summer for killer whale attacks on boats.
The others were rescued, ours was not “.

Killer whales are a danger

For months the Sailing Newspaper has been warning that killer whales have become a danger , and in this recent article we also provided tips on how not to be attacked by killer whales.
The main suspect in this invasion of killer whales in the Mediterranean is climate change that upsets the balance of the seas, its fauna and flora. Such as the case of coral reefs being created in Apulia.

The first Italian boat sunk by them

The most famous case of an Italian boat sinking caused by the attack of “killer whales” is that of Giorgio Falck’s Guia in 1976.
The story can be found here.