Sailors forced to use spikes and flares to fight off orcas as attacks skyrocket

A MAN HAS TOLD HOW HE WAS LEFT FEARING FOR HIS LIFE WHEN HIS BOAT WAS REPEATEDLY RAMMED BY ORCAS – HE SAYS SAILORS ARE USING DANGEROUS DETERRENTS INCLUDING FLARES PROTECT THEMSELVES 13:13,

20 May 2025Updated 13:13, 20 May 2025 Sailors are resorting to using flares and even spikes to fight off terrifying orca attacks to protect their vessels as attacks from the beast skyrocket.

In the past half-decade, a group of orcas have started to ram into non-motorised boats off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and France. Research conducted in 2024 from the

International Whaling Commission found there have been at least 673 documented "interactions" since May 2020 between rocs and manmade vessels. Heath Samples, 57, a seasoned sailor

from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has recounted the terrifying incident in 2022 when his yacht was ambushed by three orcas. The ambush caused him and his crew to be scared witless as the

killer whales caused havoc leaving their vessel with £24k worth of damage. He claims some in the yachting community have resorted to risky deterrents such as pouring petrol, hurling flares

and attaching spikes at the animal. Others have altered their sailing routes or scrapped their plans entirely due to these attacks posing a threat to their homes, livelihoods and even lives.

To prevent harm to the orcas, Heath and his sailing mate, Mark Hirst, 61, have engineered a rudder attachment that masks the rudder noises which might attract orcas. Article continues below

"Nobody knows for sure why these attacks are spreading or what we can do about it. We don't know for sure whether it's for fun, practice or mistaking the yachts for

prey," Heath – an IT professional with four decades of sailing under his belt – explained. "When it happened to us, we were petrified. I can understand people's frustration

but I can't condone using using animal cruelty to deter them either. But if this continues, I can guarantee lives will be lost," Heath warned. Iberian orcas attacking boats was

unheard behaviour until a sudden surge in incidents from 2020, leaving many stunned. Some experts speculate the orcas might be mimicking each other and passing on this behaviour to their

offspring. "We don't know whether they are using the rudders as practice, to teach their babies how to attack. Or maybe they actually think the rudder is prey," Heath said.

"From what we understand, it could be to do with the movement of the rudder creating frequencies underwater which sounds like prey. "When you're sailing, you're moving

the rudder all the time and you can't stop that," he added, "They don't seem to be attacking motorboats, which don't have rudders," he explained. Heath

previously experienced an orca attack when two adult orcas and a calf targeted the Beneteau Oceanis 40 yacht. The orca attack happened south of Barcelona in July 2022 as it sent a beautiful

day into chaos. "We were five nautical miles south of Barbate, Spain, and it was a beautiful sunny day with a perfectly flat sea. "Then we got rammed and I thought we'd been

hit by a tanker, but when I turned around there was no boat. It happened again and again and we saw two adult orcas with a baby," he explained. Article continues below "We tried to

outrun them, tried stopping the engine and everything. They just kept spinning the boat and bashing the hell out of it for 45 minutes, until help arrived," Heath added. Despite being

towed, the yacht continued to be battered. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, with only minor injuries such as bruises, cuts and grazes. _FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND STORIES FROM

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