Copa del Rey Mapfre: Rudder off - renewed orca interaction with regatta participant
Max Gasser
· 24.07.2023
The almost one hundred participants in the 41st edition of the Copa del Rey Mapfre do not start for another five days, but there may already be the first cancellations. The reason for this are two rudder blades bitten by Orcas. It is currently questionable whether the two yachts will recover from the incidents with the killer whales in time for the start.
The week before last, the First 50 DK "Corsario" had already been hit during its passage to Palma de Mallorca. Shortly before Gibraltar, it came into contact with the orcas near Barbate, which resulted in serious damage to the rudder. At least two groups of whales are now thought to be targeting the appendages of yachts. One of them is active just off the fishing village to the north-west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Jorge Durán's crew had to learn this painfully, but although they remained unharmed, they have to fear for their start in the Copa del Rey Mapfre.
Dramatic orca interactions:
The same applies to the crew of the "Kapote tercero". The Sun Fast 37 had to be towed to Málaga by the Spanish sea rescue organisation Salvamento Marítimo on Thursday evening. The incident occurred at around 8.30 pm, just as the crew was preparing dinner. The Spanish sports magazine " Marca " quotes a fellow sailor: "We downshifted, dropped the genoa and mainsail, took in the sails and reversed. We managed to stop the boat a little. There were three or four killer whales. The first one was the one that took the helm."
Orcas destroy rudder blade in just a few minutes
However, the rudder was not able to withstand this for long. "They bit into the rudder and pushed it back and forth, but the first blow broke it," recalls the crew member. Videos show the two rudders with very similar damage. In both cases, entire corners of the rudder blade are missing in the lower section, bitten off almost in a straight line. In the most recent case, however, the rudder is also completely split open.
According to official estimates, several hundred yacht rudders have been destroyed by killer whales off the Iberian Peninsula since summer 2020 and three yachts have been reported as "sunk due to orca interaction". Unofficial estimates are much higher in both cases. However, the Franco-Spanish marine biologist Renaud De Stephanis recently wrote in a YACHT interview reported the decline in figures since April 2023.
It is still not clear why such interactions occur in the first place. There are also several theories about the optimal behaviour in an emergency. Both teams have announced that they intend to repair the damage as soon as possible in order to continue the transfer and ultimately be able to start the 41st Copa del Rey Mapfre. According to the Spanish water sports medium " Gaceta Náutica ", the crew of the "Kapote tercero" has already succeeded in repairing the rudder, which is also visible on the Instagram account of a fellow sailor to see.
These videos show the two rudder blades destroyed by the orcas:
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
