Killer Whales Wreak Havoc on Sailing Yachts

The Bad Boys of the Orca World

Orca (Killer Whale) approaching yachtPhoto byScheidle-Design / Adobe Stock

Meet the orca group responsible for ramming yachts.

If you’re reading this online while you sail your yacht around the world, you may want to put down your device and instead scan the horizon for orcas.

Orcas, also known as killer whales, just made headlines again for sinking yet another yacht near the Strait of Gibraltar (in southwest Europe).

Have all orcas in the world set out to target the typically luxurious boats of the wealthy?

The “bad boys” of the orca world

The latest yacht to be sunk was not a small or unsafe vessel. It was a 50-foot-long sailing yacht, and its occupants had to be rescued from the open ocean at the site of the sinking.

This attack marks the fifth time in the past three years that yachts targeted by orcas have been so badly damaged that they’ve sunk. Although not all of the cases where killer whales have attacked such ships have led to them sinking, scientists have documented more than 50 similar cases since 2020.

There are several interesting aspects to these reports. One is that most of the attacks seem to have taken place in this same part of the ocean, off the coasts of Spain, Morocco, and Portugal (according to GTOA, the Atlantic Orca Working Group).

Many of these attacks have been taking place between the months of May and August, and almost all have taken place in the ocean to the south and west of Spain, although a 2023 attack in the North Sea has also been documented.

Along with happening in the same geographical region, scientists now speculate that most of these coordinated assaults are being perpetrated by one specific group of orcas. This family pod, known as “gladis” orcas, is a group of six related orcas, led by the mother of several of them, who has been named “White Gladis” by the scientific community. Although other groups of orcas in the same region have also been involved in hunting yachts, scientists believe White Gladis’s family is the most active in their pursuit.

What does it feel like to be on a yacht being attacked by orcas?

Some yacht crews have reported that orcas rammed their ship for more than an hour. Orcas have also shown to be remarkably efficient at ripping off ships’ rudders — meaning they leave the vessels unable to steer — in less than fifteen minutes. They’ve also been noted to play with the rudders after ripping them off.

Victims of these aggressive orca maneuvers have also reported that the killer whales’ whistling and communicating to one another during the attacks was “so loud that we had to shout.”

Although they’re known by the name of “killer whales,” orcas are actually the largest members of the dolphin family. They can weigh more than 20,000 pounds and be more than 30 feet long — meaning that when they head-butt and ram ships, the occupants very much feel it.

These orcas have also been known to surround boats, and to chase them as they travel to the hoped-for safety of the shore.

The big question: Why are these orcas attacking yachts?

Scientists have been largely perplexed by this recent behavior by orca pods in and around the Strait of Gibraltar.There are currently a number of different theories that attempt to explain these attacks.

One theory suggests that White Gladis, the female orca whose family is participating in the majority of the attacks, is acting out of revenge. One member of the Atlantic Orca Working Group has suggested that the matriarch “may have been traumatized by a boat in some manner” and is now lashing out violently at other, similar boats.

Although it’s difficult to prove that is the pod’s motivation, there seems to be little doubt that the orcas are learning from White Gladis and from each other, copying the rudder-destroying and other behaviors.

Other scientists, however, suggest that this yacht-targeting behavior might be meant more in the spirit of play. Scientists have suggested that orcas are highly tactile and might be simply “having fun or seeking an admittedly terrifying back scratch.”

Are you Team Orca or Team Yacht?

All of this will certainly give pleasure cruisers in the Strait of Gibraltar this summer a reason to perhaps be more cautious than usual. But pop culture, as pop culture often does, hasn’t been able to resist having a bit of fun with the situation.

In addition to people asking on Twitter (X) whether or not you’re on “Team Orca,” there have been numerous social media memes on the subject. You can even buy a t-shirt advocating for “Orcas 2024.”

Regardless of which side you’re on, this still-developing story about the power of the natural world and its inhabitants offers all of us a powerful reminder. No matter how high up the food chain you are, other apex predators can still surprise you.