Orcas disrupt boat race near Spain in latest display of puzzling behaviour
The HinduA pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas. No one was injured, but Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek said in a video posted on The Ocean Race website that it was “a scary moment.” “Twenty minutes ago, we got hit by some orcas,” he said in the video. Impressive to see the orcas, beautiful animals, but also a dangerous moment for us as a team.” Team JAJO was approaching the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea on a leg from the Netherlands to Italy when at least three orcas approached the VO65 class sloop. “Everyone is OK on board and the animals are also OK.” The Ocean Race involves two classes of sailboats at sea for weeks at a time, with the IMOCA 60 boats competing in a six-month, 32,000-nautical mile circumnavigation of the globe. Green Humour: On orcas Although the race course navigates around exclusion zones to protect known marine habitats, there have been previous encounters with whales in The Ocean Race and other high-speed regattas.