In the latest incident of a long-running series of “interactions” between orcas and midsize sailing yachts off the coast of Spain, a British yacht crew had to be rescued after an orca sank their vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Tarifa received a distress call from the yacht Bonhomme William. The crew reported that orcas had disabled their vessel.

Apparently, they had hit it several times, causing it to go adrift approximately three kilometres off Punta Camarinal in the Strait’s western entrance.

Orcas continued to strike Bonhomme William yacht

While the rescue vessel was in transit, the crew radioed again to say that the killer whales had continued to strike at the already damaged vessel—so much so that it had begun taking in water and was in danger of sinking.

Thankfully, the rescue team were able to get to the yacht in time to save the three sailors and retrieve some of the hazardous materials before it sank completely.

Orcas attacking Bonhomme William yacht not an isolated incident

In the past three months alone, there have been two incidents involving orcas causing sailing boats to sink in the same area.

In May, a group of orcas intercepted the yacht Alboran Cognac off Tangier, on the Moroccan side of the strait. The yacht was left leaking and disabled, and the two crew members had to be rescued by a passing tanker.

Thankfully, there has never been a recorded fatal orca attack in the wild, even though they are among the ocean’s most capable predators. In fact, scientists believe that this behaviour towards yachts may simply be a form of play among the younger orcas.

Observations would suggest that they appear to enjoy hitting sailboat rudders and watching the boats spin around.

Interestingly, they also seem to have a favoured size of vessel to ‘play’ with as experts have identified that they are only interested in yachts that are less than 15 metres long and in motion.