WATCH: We've Finally Got Underwater Footage Of The Killer Whale Pod Destroying Boats Off The Coast Of Spain And It Is TERRIFYING
Source - Team JAJO had some special –– and terrifying –– visitors while sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar as part of the 2023 Ocean Race on Thursday.
A group of orcas, otherwise known as killer whales, surrounded the Dutch crew’s yacht, first circling the boat and then ramming into it.
“This was a scary moment,” Jelmer van Beek, Team JAJO skipper, said, according to the Associated Press. “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.”
Precision. Accuracy. Grace. No, I'm not describing Frank the Tank cooking ribs, I'm describing the manor in which these Orcas systematically analyzed, then temporarily disabled Team JAJO's racing Yacht...
The Video...
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(Underwater footage starts around twenty-four seconds)
And make no mistake about it, this was a conscious decision by those whales to let those dudes live. All they had to do was take one chomp out of the rudder and they were as good as dead. Instead, the whales decided to test the strength of the rudder (00:39) by thrusting their bodies directly into it. Pulling back only after getting an accurate enough reading on its pliability. In other words, they were doing their research. They weren't acting on emotion or instinct, they were using their brain to decided the best way to proceed. Which in this case was by ramming the hull of boat until all members of its crew had sufficiently soiled themselves.
Here's how Team JAJO handled the situation...
“We took down the sails and slowed down the boat as quickly as possible, and luckily after a few attacks, they went away,” van Beek said.
“Thankfully, the crew and the boat are unharmed,” they wrote in an Instagram post. “The Dutch boat skippered by Jelmer van Beek is now back on its way to Genova.”
While they dropped to fourth place after handling the orcas, the group eventually slotted back into second by the end of the day and remain there now as the race enters the final leg.
Terrifying. Imagine having to stop your boat to wait out killer whales? No thanks. I'll watch the race, but I won't be participating. I prefer not to put myself in situations where I'm a the mercy of an 8000lbs apex predator. I suggest you do the same. That's it for this one. I'll follow up with another blog the next time a boat gets attacked. Hopefully the outcome is equally as peaceful. Thanks for reading.