Ocean Race Team’s Boat Attacked by Pod of Orcas

The crew experienced a rather tense few minutes when a group of killer whales laid siege to their yacht near the Strait of Gibraltar.

Orcas have been a subject of great debate in the public discourse recently, as multiple videos have emerged of incidents involving the whales and boats in various bodies of water over the past week.

On Thursday, the sea mammals made a notable—and nearly unfortunate—impact on the sports world. 

While approaching the Strait of Gibraltar on Thursday, The Ocean Race’s Team JAJO encountered a pod of orcas, also known as killer whales, and were forced to navigate for several minutes as the whales ambushed the team’s boat. Video footage captured by the team showed multiple orcas accelerating toward the vessel, biting at the rudders and even ramming into the yacht.

The crew attempted to use oars to bang on the hull of the ship in an attempt to dissuade the orcas from continuing the attack. Eventually, the pod left the area with the vessel still completely intact and the members of the crew unharmed.

“This was a scary moment,” Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek said. “Three orcas came straight at us and started hitting the rudders. Impressive to see the orcas, beautiful animals, but also a dangerous moment for us as a team.

“We took down the sails and slowed down the boat as quickly as possible, and luckily after a few attacks, they went away.”

Thursday’s incident is just the latest attack in what authorities deem to be a noticeable increase of run-ins between killer whales and vessels off the coast of Portugal in recent months. In May alone, there were more than 20 such incidents, three of which resulted in severe enough damage for the boats involved to sink. 

After the scary moment, Team JAJO will continue on in the Ocean Race—a six-month, 37,000-mile competition around the world that will conclude on July 1.