Dear readers,

They've done it again. At the end of last week a group of orcas sank a sailing boat off the coast of Portugal. On board: a Portuguese-French couple and their three children. The assault was violent. The family just managed to send out a "mayday" and climb into the life raft before watching their boat sink. 45 nautical miles off the coast. A large-scale rescue operation followed as darkness fell. A fishing boat finally found the family in their tiny life raft and took them on board.

Once again, the crew was rescued and nobody was physically harmed. But it was a close call. Anyone who has ever climbed into a life raft, possibly in waves and dripping wet oilskins, knows that this is not a matter of course. Especially not with three children.

But the orcas just want to play, as many media outlets have reported in recent weeks, often prefaced with the word "all-clear". All-clear? For whom? The realisation that the increasingly frequent attacks by orcas on sailing yachts are playful behaviour is in no way an all-clear for sailors who regularly risk damage to their boats or their total loss when sailing in orca areas.

People who love animals in particular like to raise their moral finger at this point. "The sea belongs to them! Leave the orcas alone! No wonder they're fighting back, humans have stolen their food and are threatening them!"

I don't agree with the view that sailors have no business at sea. A boat under sail whose crew behaves in an environmentally conscious manner does no harm to the sea or its inhabitants. And if the orcas really just want to play, these sailors won't fight back either. The orcas just don't recognise the line at which play becomes serious - for their toy and its crew. They carry on until something is broken and the game becomes boring.

Orcas are intelligent and learning animals. What was perceived almost five years ago as a behavioural anomaly in a small number of young orcas is now continuing: the young are learning from their elders how to play with the rudder blades and keels of boats. It is to be feared that there will be more and more of them. However, science is still in its infancy when it comes to researching this phenomenon, which has now become commonplace. There is research, theories and recommendations, but no ideas (that I know of) as to whether and how the animals can be unlearnt - which in my opinion would be the most effective long-term strategy for protecting the orcas. And for the protection of humans.

In this "game" of orca versus sailing yacht, one side enjoys protection: the animals from the endangered species "Orca Iberica". And they are also stronger. In the worst-case scenario, sailors risk their lives. Fortunately, this has not happened so far. But it is increasingly becoming a question of time.

Sailors in the region and even those who may never want to sail towards the Mediterranean are literally overflowing with ideas about what to do in the event of an encounter. The needle on the scale from defensive to offensive behaviour is now leaning towards "force if necessary" for many. Many try to avoid the orcas. If an encounter does occur and in most cases the orcas attempt to damage the boat, some throw sand or vinegar into the sea or make noise in case the killer whales approach. Others take a tougher approach, thinking about electric shocks, using fireworks or thinking aloud about using handguns.

Is that allowed? Legally and, according to many, morally, anyone who uses force against strictly protected animals is treading on thin ice. But when the going gets tough, don't humans also have a right to defend themselves? I think so: yes.

This is more comparable to a friendly scuffle in the school playground, where someone, usually the weaker one, ends up with a black eye if someone doesn't intervene first.

Ursula Meer

YACHT editor

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