The "Bianca", a Sweden Yachts 45, was travelling from Brest in France to A Coruña in Spain when it was attacked by up to eight killer whales at the same time on Tuesday morning. Although the crew of two had prepared well for a possible confrontation with the orcas, they were powerless in the face of the concentrated force of the intelligent sea hunters.
Skipper Svein Skeide reports: "My partner and I were prepared and followed the recommended emergency procedure step by step. 'Bianca' into the wind, sails down, engine on and full power back. It seemed to work for a few minutes, but then the group of up to eight orcas went into a coordinated attack."
For an hour, the orcas did not let go of the Norwegians and pushed the boat around 180 degrees several times, while the rudder was bitten off bit by bit until it was unable to manoeuvre.
Help from dolphins?
"The drama ended suddenly with the arrival of a large pod of dolphins, and within a minute or two the orcas had disappeared. I can't say whether the dolphins actually scared the whales away, but there seemed to be a connection. On the other hand, the orcas didn't have much to chew on at that point," Svein Skeide recounts with a touch of gallows humour.
Skeide and his Swedish partner Lisa Ternström feared a possible water ingress due to the destroyed steering gear, and as they were unable to manoeuvre, they called the Spanish rescue services for help. After half an hour, a Salvamento Maritimo lifeboat reached the "Bianca" to tow her to the nearby fishing village of Cedeira. A helicopter was also deployed for surveillance.
Four orca attacks in one day
The couple were on a long voyage to the Caribbean when they encountered the aggressive killer whales. A total of four sailing boats were attacked by the whales that day, presumably by the same group. The three other boats involved were from England, Holland and France.
Svein Skeide concludes: "There are always obstacles or difficulties to overcome on a long Atlantic voyage. At the end of the day, we only have material damage that can be repaired. We are grateful that we were within VHF range when the incident occurred and that it happened in daylight. We are now looking at the best way to get the boat repaired and are enjoying ourselves in Spain. Then we'll set sail again!"
