A Swiss sailing team experienced a night of terror on their way from Tenerife to the Spanish coast. However, the experienced sailors were surprised by three killer whales, which suddenly attacked the ship – and eventually sank it. The hasty rescue service at sea was unable to do much.
Actually, Werner Schaufelberger and his crew wanted to transfer the yacht “Champagne” to Benalmadena in southern Spain last week. But on the night of May 4, the sailors off the coast of Gibraltar recorded a violent rumble. “At first I thought we had rammed something,” Schaufelberger told “yacht.de”. “But then I quickly realized it was killer whales charging at the ship.”
“The big one kept running”
Apparently there were two smaller ones and one larger one – the crew reacted immediately and turned off the engine, but the animals did not release the water vehicle and continued to attack. “The two little ones shook the rudder at the back,” Schaufelberger said, “the big one kept running and rammed the ship with full force.” Eventually, however, the smaller whales would have started to ram the ship as well.
The crew was left to their own devices for a long time
The crew therefore tried to raise the alarm – but another ship passing about 200 meters away did not respond, the crew described the explosive situation – even illuminated signals via searchlights and a radio call had no effect, it went on and on.
So the crew contacted the port of Tarifa in southern Andalusia – the local coastguard advised them to keep calm, but after about 90 minutes the crew noticed two holes in the hull through which the water was already entering.
Only the mast looked out of the water
It was clear to the seafarers: they had to disembark and leave the “Champagne” as soon as possible. The four passengers were eventually freed from their predicament at sea by helicopter and lifeboat. The rescue team also tried to salvage the sailing ship with a tow rope, but the damage was already so great that the ship sank – before entering the harbor only the mast looked out of the water.
“I saw a ship sink for the first time – the moment is special,” the Swiss newspaper “Blick” quotes the sailor.
Sailors: “Don’t blame the whales”
The boat may have sunk, “but we were rescued and we are fine. That shows: It could have been much worse,” Schaufelberger in turn told “yacht.de”. Despite the incident, he bears no grudge against the animals: “We don’t know why the whales keep attacking ships, but I take it don’t blame them.”
Such attacks by killer whales on boats are not uncommon – but recently they have increased significantly. There is no concrete explanation for the increase. Scientists at least suspect that the animals want to improve their hunting technique in this way – another theory says that the attacks can only be a game for the whales.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
