‘Everyone is a little tense’: Sailors exchange tips on staying away from orcas

The first time killer whales appeared near his catamaran, Florian Rutsch was surprised, but prepared.

Like many who ventured to the Iberian Peninsula, Mr. Rutsch had been scouring Facebook groups, Telegram chats and other online platforms where sailors exchanged tips on a relatively recent phenomenon: How do you get killer whales to leave your boat alone?

In May, when the crew of his catamaran, which he charters for luxury trips and retreats, encountered a pod of killer whales while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, he tried out some of those ideas. He scattered sand in the water, which some sailors thought might be a deterrent (unsubstantiated). He then put the engine on full throttle and drove away from the group (advice supported by the Spanish government).

The orcas left them alone. But his second encounter with the animals in November was less polite.

To deter them, this time the crew also tried another idea that had been passed around: booming a curated playlist of heavy metal – titled “Metal for Orcas” – through an underwater speaker. But the animals had moved quickly, targeting the rudder and disabling the boat’s controls. The crew had to call for help and eventually Spanish rescue authorities arrived and towed the ship to port.

“It’s scary,” Mr. Rutsch said. “No one knows what works and what doesn’t work.”

‘It’s the talk of the town.’

Since 2020, killer whales – apex predators that are the largest members of the dolphin family – have been disrupting boat travel along the coastlines of the Iberian Peninsula, causing enough damage to a handful to sink them. Researchers don’t know why.

Online, some are enamored by the gloating of orcas hitting back at their hunting overlords, but biologists say it’s likely the curious animals have simply learned a new way to play with boats.

It’s less charming for the skippers and boat owners who navigate some of the world’s busiest waterways in floating homes that can be expensive to repair. A small percentage of sailboats are affected, according to researchers, who are still testing methods that can minimize the interactions.

But until a proven solution is found, sailors are gathering, online and in person, to compare notes. A Facebook groupwith 59,000 members, describes details of interactions, while in another, users talk about tactics. In Telegram chats they ask for feedback on detours to avoid the so-called ‘orca alley’.

“People are better informed,” says Rui Alves, a former sailor who founded the foundation Orcas.pt to help sailors connect and discuss the issue. Mr Alves says he was surprised by the site’s popularity: when he started it in October 2022, about ten people joined. Now there are almost 2,000.

“We have local sailors, Portuguese and Spanish, and we have sailors coming from Britain to cross the Atlantic,” he said.

More established groups such as the Cruising Association, a British-based group for sailors, have also maintained crews’ accounts and collaborated with researchers to provide current information. “Sailors working together with the right scientists is the best approach to finding a solution,” Paul Lingard, a spokesman for the group, said in a statement.

“It’s the talk of the sailing community,” says Emma Gore, a sailor who found advice from Facebook groups helpful when she encountered a killer whale off the coast of Morocco. “Everyone is a little tense.”

Sail away, sail away, sail away.

Do any of the sailor deterrents work? Researchers are skeptical that spreading sand or changing the color of a boat’s hull (avoiding black is one suggestion) will do much. They also warn that some of the proposed methods – such as throwing fireworks into the water or using pingers, devices that emit high-pitched signals underwater – could harm the animals, which are considered endangered.

According to the Cruising Association, there are plans to test an acoustic device that could deter orcas from coming closer without harming them. And so are biologists following the animalssome collaborate with the Spanish government to understand how adjusting boat movements can minimize the chance of interactions.

For now, researchers and authorities say the only real solution is to sail into shallower water and get away as quickly as possible during an encounter with orcas.

“The solution is to leave the area,” says Renaud de Stephanis, biologist and coordinator of the non-profit research group CIRCE. He is part of a project that involves tagging killer whales via satellite to better track their movements as they chase tuna along the coastline. Mr de Stephanis said it was clear the orcas had learned how to break rudder, and research this year suggested that failing to stop a boat could reduce the animals’ chances of doing so.

Mr Alves, the founder of Orcas.pt, said: “I think in the long run we know where they are – and avoid that area.” Many sailors are already taking that advice to heart and say they will stop sailing through orca routes until a solution is found.

“I am afraid that people will resort to more drastic measures if we do not quickly find harmless solutions,” said Mr Rutsch, the German sailor. Detours to avoid the orcas can add days or even weeks to a journey, and shallow waters expose boats to other hazards, such as underwater rocks and fishing nets.

“No sailor really wants to hurt orcas,” Mr. Rutsch added. “That’s the big mystery here.”

He was tense during a crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar last week, he said, and took a flare and foghorn with him in case another encounter occurred.

“Thankfully this time,” he said. “We were only afraid of some dolphins for a short time.”