The Erichsen family of five from Grimstad will probably remember the incident off Galicia on 11 August forever. In an attack that lasted 30 to 45 minutes, the rudder was bitten into until the Bavaria was unable to manoeuvre. Mikkel Erichsen reported in the Facebook group "Orca Attack Reporting" on 4 September 2022:
"We were attacked twice by orcas. The first time was on 11 August around 1pm, 30 miles NNE of La Coruña (200m water depth). Today at 4pm, one mile west of Illa Sálvora (90 metres water depth), near Muros, we were attacked for the second time. Both times we had the engine on and the autopilot and echo sounder switched on. Our boat is a Bavaria 42 Cruiser with a white hull and a black underwater hull. The attacks on the rudder took place immediately after we had sighted the orcas, so we barely had time to take countermeasures."
Even switching off the engine and echo sounder and reversing the boat in the meantime could not calm or confuse the incited orcas. Even when the unmanoeuvrable boat was towed towards land by another ship, the whales did not let up.
"It really was like a never-ending nightmare. Our children were terrified, and we saw the bitten-off parts of our yacht floating in the water while the orcas kept hitting the hull," says Mikkel Erichsen.
During the second attack on 4 September at Illa Sálvora, the now repaired rudder was nibbled at again, but after a determined manoeuvre to return, the orcas let go of the battered Norwegians more quickly than they had four weeks earlier at La Coruña. This time, the Erichsens made it to the next harbour under their own steam to have the rudder repaired again.
The first orca attacks on sailing boats were recorded two years ago. Since then, there have been countless of these mysterious incidents off the coasts of Portugal and Spain. On 31 July this year, a sailing yacht was sunk for the first time. The crew was able to transfer to a life raft in time.
The Erichsens have now arrived in Porto and are slowly beginning their preparations for their Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean. No orcas have been sighted there yet, but hungry pigs have been spotted swimming towards the boats. Fortunately, they are harmless!
