Boaters will have to accept the risks of sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Thanks to ongoing detailed reporting from Marine Industry News UK, as well as a breakdown of data from the UK's Cruising Association, boaters should now know what to expect when traveling in the Strait.
A live map and a mobile app are just two of the new resources available allowing boaters to receive up-to-the-minute data regarding the movement of whales in the region.
In the Cruising Association's latest report, Orca project leader John Burbeck admits the association has “come to the point where we accept that orca interacting with yachts is one of the risks of sailing — like stormy water or man overboard. We've had five seasons of this, and it hasn't gone away."
With five years of data and multiple news stories, teams of scientists. with the help of the Cruising Association, have largely come to the conclusion that the interactions with Orcas aren't aggressive in nature. Rather, the whales have learned how to 'bump' the rudders of passing sailboats mainly for amusement. Due to the mammal's incredible intelligence, the whales then taught the skill to their young, which has exacerbated the issue as more whales have developed the ability to disrupt passing vessels.
Incidents have been reported primarily off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, and even France. The narrower passage through the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Morocco, has seen the majority of interactions.
Multiple reports, including one from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), state that a combination of free time, curiosity, and natural playfulness has led to young Orcas adding the skill to their repertoire.
In other words, the whales are just having fun.
Since Orcas are a protected species and cannot be hunted or disturbed in their environment, the onus falls upon boaters to manage their travel safely to avoid interactions with the pods.
In the vast majority of cases, the whales have systematically bumped the rudder or keel of sailboats. This has led to damage that's left multiple boats adrift, and in some cases even sunk.
“The nature of the damage is the same; it’s the rudders. If you’re going to sail in these waters, it’s a real risk,” says the CA's Burbeck.
Thanks to incident reports filed with the Cruising Association and GT Orca Atlantica, scientists have identified several key factors that seem to instigate interactions with the whales.
Two of the most common factors are boat size (typically sailboats in the 30-50 foot range), and speed (vessels travelling quickly through the center of the Strait). The whales have not generally approached or 'bumped' larger commercial vessels or recreational gas-powered boats. There has also been greater success at avoiding the whales by traveling slowly through the Strait and sticking close to shore. Sailboats moving quickly that have attracted the whales have experienced some success by slowing down, which appears to lessen the whales' interest. Deploying a sound device (i.e., playing music, or using an airhorn) has also deterred Orcas in some instances.
Going forward, the CA and its stewards are recommending that boaters both educate and prepare themselves before entering the Strait.
There are now two mobile apps, GT Orcas and Orcinus, that boaters can download for both Apple and Android. The apps include maps showing the location of interactions, incident reports with details about any interaction in your area, and other helpful info to make a safe passage through the Strait.
Boaters can also go directly to the GT Orca Atlantica website to see detailed maps, historical data from 2020-2025, and a host of recommendations to prepare for a possible interaction with a pod of whales.
The Cruising Association website has access to the entire catalog of incident reports including an analysis of Orca interactions by location. This allows any prospective boaters to plan their route around the location of the most recent interactions and organize their travel accordingly.
Users can even click on individual map pins and get details about each interaction including the location, time, the size and type of vessel involved, the number of Orcas present, the boat's speed when the Orcas were spotted, the depth at the site of interaction, the distance from land, and notes from the captain regarding what transpired.
According to Burbeck, “Legally, there are only two things you can do, as orca are a protected species. One is to pour sand around the rudder, as that disrupts their sonar, and/or make a loud noise. Those are the only two deterrents."
“If you have to go through waters where they are, monitor traffic lights on apps and get into shallow water. That should be less than 20m deep and close to shore, if conditions permit. There have been no interactions reported in shallow water.”
The Cruising Association is continuing to tell boaters to please report any interaction throughout the region as it will help with further programs and analysis. #news
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