The rich do not take out their sailboats because of the attacks of the orcas

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The attacks of orcas to sailboats in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean seem the synopsis of a creepy desktop movie of Antena 3, completely removed from the nice Free Willy! that all the children of the 90s remember. These attacks have in suspense the wealthy who usually go sailing in their pleasure boats. LOC has contacted one of the entrepreneurs who explains in first person why he has decided not to go sailing. "I talked to my sailor and he told me that this

Year I didn't want to take the sailboat out in case the orcas attacked us.

He knows better than anyone what is out there. I was embarrassed."

The attacks of orcas towards sailboats have been occurring for three years but

This week four crew members of a sailboat were rescued in the early hours of Thursday after suffering the fury of the orcas. The sailboat Mustique was heading to

Gibraltar

when it received the hard impact of cetaceans. The blow caused the rudder to break and a crack in the stern. In most cases orcas ram boats without sinking them but since 2020 there have been three sinkings.

The last one took place this month near

Barbate

. On the night of May 4, a sailboat of 15 meters in length was attacked by the aforementioned cetaceans. He was sailing in the area and the orcas repeatedly hit the rudder, according to the specialized magazine.

"There were two small ones and one bigger," Champagne captain Werner Schaufelberger told the publication. "The little ones hit the rudder from the back, while the big orca repeatedly backed away.

Added. Finally the sailboat was towed to the port of Barbate but sank at the entrance.

Several sailboats docked in the port of Gibraltar.

CRISTINA QUICLER

AFP

Another of the great dangers that the sailors observe is that it seems that the baby killer whales are learning this attack technique. The captain of the Champagne warned about it: "The two small orcas observed the technique of the older one and, with a slight impulse, also crashed into the ship."

What we insist looks like the plot of a movie, has gone from the headlines of the local press to newspapers like

. In the article that they have dedicated to these unusual attacks they refer to

These animals, detected thanks to the bitonality of their skin, reach 9 meters in length and a weight of 6 tons in the case of adult males. Biologists find no pattern

However, two hypotheses are considered to try to explain this phenomenon. One of them is that their self-induced behavior, that is, the ability to invent something and repeat it. On the other hand, it could be the result of an aggressive situation that they have suffered and do not want to repeat again. Experts agree that cetaceans like to compete in speed with boats as an interaction in which game, chase and hunting are mixed.

VACATION

With the arrival of summer, many sailing enthusiasts head to the coasts to give free rein to their passion. Normally they have a certain purchasing power and own the boats and others prefer to rent them.

This summer the same can happen with those who head from the capital to the coast only in the holiday season.

Spanish orcas are located in spring and early summer in the waters of the Strait. They wait for schools of tuna, their main food. They remain there until July, when

off the Portuguese coast. They then fann out over the North Atlantic. If you are among those lucky enough to sail, take note of your route so as not to coincide.