Recently, a man sailing in the Mediterranean Sea was attacked by killer whales for nearly two hours, which eventually sank a $128k yacht. 59-year-old Robert Powell was less than 24 hours into what was planned to be a 10-day sailing trip from Portugal to Greece. However, his plans were thwarted by the vicious Orca attack that cost him his sailing boat.
Powell, who intended to celebrate his birthday with the sailing excursion, noted how intelligent the killer whales were when destroying the boat. “To me, they were not playing at all, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the weak points of the boat, and they knew how to sink it,” Powell said. “Their sole intention was to sink the boat, and that was it.”
Reportedly, five orcas surrounded the yacht and began attacking it around 8 p.m. in a manner that Powell likened to Wolves hunting in a pack. According to Powell, the first impact hit the bottom of the boat, leaving him concerned that the vessel had run over a rock. “Whilst I was looking around the boat to see if I could see anything — I was doing about 5 to 6 knots — it got hit again,” he said, recounting the harrowing experience.
“On the second hit, I looked over the back of the boat, and I could see the dark shape of a killer whale in the water,” he said, explaining the moment he realized he was being attacked by the vicious sea creatures. The orcas repeatedly hit the boat’s rudder, where the boat was unable to be steered after. Eventually, they each began to attack different parts of the yacht such as the keel and the stern.
“They were circling. It was like watching wolves hunt,” Powell said. “They were taking it in turns to come in — sometimes two would come in at the same time and hit it. So obviously pretty terrifying.” He further claimed that he tried nearly everything at his disposal to deter the killer whales, including dropping firecrackers in the water, but nothing would stop the onslaught.
After roughly an hour and a half, the boat’s hull eventually gave in and split apart, and the ship began taking on water. Fortunately, a nearby salvage ship was able to rescue Powell and his crew shortly before the yacht sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. “It was a very long attack, and it was really the violence of the attack that surprised me,” Powell said. “I have a feeling that this group are boat sinkers — I think they knew what they were doing, I’m sure of it,” he added.
Reports indicate that orcas have targeted other boats in European waters over the past couple of years. “It’s only a matter of time before someone shoots one of these killer whales,” Powell predicted. “The fight between man and beast is going to get worse. Luckily none of us were in the water or got hurt…And it’s a lottery as to whether they hit you or not.”
Watch footage of the attack below: