“We were completely vulnerable. Although we maintained a surprising level of calmness, deep down we were filled with sheer terror,” recounted Janet Morris, one of the passengers on board.
A British couple had a harrowing encounter with a pod of killer whales while sailing off the coast of Morocco earlier this month.
Janet Morris, 58, and Stephen Bidwell were participating in a week-long sailing course when the incident occurred on May 2. Recounting the experience to The Sunday Times, Morris expressed her disbelief upon spotting the magnificent creatures. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw them,” she said, acknowledging the rarity of such an encounter.
Initially in awe of the orcas, the couple soon realized they were in a vulnerable position. “We were sitting ducks. We were amazingly calm, but underneath we were thinking, ‘Oh my god,’” Morris revealed. However, the collective composure of everyone onboard provided a sense of reassurance amidst the apprehension. “Because everyone was calm, it felt okay,” she added.
However, the situation took a terrifying turn when the couple was awoken from their nap during preparations for a night watch. Startled by loud bangs on the hull and the crew’s shouts about the orcas, they rushed outside to witness the creatures repeatedly colliding with their 46-foot boat.
Fear gripped Morris as she recalled the ordeal, saying, “We were petrified. It wasn’t until afterwards that we talked about being very scared. We grabbed our valuable belongings and passports and discussed preparing the life raft.”
Morris explained that the challenging sea conditions preceding the encounter with the orcas exacerbated the situation. “It really didn’t help that conditions were bad before the orcas. The boat was moving around a lot,” she shared.
According to the crew, the pod of orcas had initially been chasing debris resembling sponges that floated beneath the boat, but then transitioned to bumping into it persistently for an hour. Morris mentioned that the captain remained composed and organized throughout the incident, which greatly helped everyone onboard navigate through the ordeal.
“We all managed to stay calm because we knew that if any of us became anxious, it would spread,” said Bidwell. “We were able to maintain composure because the skipper remained tranquil. Orcas find pleasure in the pursuit, so ideally, we would have stayed still. However, due to the prevailing winds, that wasn’t feasible.”
After the intense chase, the boat’s steering system malfunctioned, leading Morris, Bidwell, and the crew to make the decision to return to shore. It was then that they discovered the orcas had been chasing fragments of the yacht’s rudder.
The stretch of water where the couple was sailing, the Strait of Gibraltar, has gained the nickname “orca alley” due to the frequent sightings of killer whales in that area. Recent reports have highlighted incidents where orcas sank two boats near the coast of Portugal, while other vessels had their rudders damaged, requiring towing back to port.
Over the years, encounters between orcas and yachts or other boats in this region have been on the rise. Numerous sailing magazines and websites have observed that the creatures seem to be attracted to a ship’s rudder, possibly due to the water pressure it generates, as reported by NPR.
