THIS is the horrifying moment a swarm of killer whales sinks a British tourist’s boat in an hour-long ramming attack.
Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell, from Cambridgeenjoying a sailing course off the coast of Maroc when they discovered the group of orcas.
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some deadly mammal then started hitting the boat – an attack is said to have continued for an hour.
But even though their crew faced high winds and high waves, they managed to steer the boat to safety.
Business Consultant Janet, 58, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw them – it’s extremely rare. We were like squatting ducks.”
“We’re amazingly calm but inside we’re thinking, ‘Oh my god’.
“Because everyone was calm it felt fine, but we were petrified, and it wasn’t until later that we talked about being very scared.
Janet revealed that they all gathered valuables and passports before talking about preparing the life rafts.
“Really bad conditions in front of the orcas won’t help. The boat moves around – it’s hard to distinguish one cause from another.
“The captain was so calm and orderly, that helped everyone get through.”
Photographer Stephen, also 58, said: “We all kept our cool because we knew that if any of us were worried we would get infected.
“We can do it because the captain is very calm.
“Killer whales enjoy the thrill of the chase, so ideally we should stand still, but that’s not possible because of the wind.”
Janet and Stephen, who are qualified to hire and serve as sailboat captains, were on the second day of a week-long course to increase their sailing miles when the orcas arrived.
The terrifying attack took place on Tuesday, May 2, just seven miles from Tangier.
The pair were taking a nap in preparation for their night duty when they suddenly felt a loud thud against the hull and heard crew members shouting, “Orcas! Orcas!” – so they jumped on deck.
At some point during the attack, the crew saw orcas – thought to number at least six – chasing sponge-like debris in the water.
The orcas gave up the chase after an hour, but the boat’s steering failed and they returned to shore.
Returning to port, they realized that the wreckage was from the rudder of a sailing yacht, a 46-foot Bavaria.
Janet said: “The couple will have another opportunity to take the course.
She added: “We took the course to gain experience and we’ll know what to do if this happens again.”
strait of Gibraltarseperate Europe And Africaformerly known as “killer whale alley” due to the large number of whales.
There have been previous reports of whales attacking boats in the area – which baffled scientists.
This follows a similar incident that took place in June 2021 – where a British crew on a luxury yacht begin to fear for their lives when a swarm of 30 killer whales attacked them.
The 25 ft or so orca slammed into the hull in two hours — and one swam away with a piece of the rudder.
In August of that year, a warning group on board the yacht also discovered a group of young, violent orcas that had been Smash sailboats in terrifying attacks to “practice hunting”.
And in November, the crew of a sinking yacht observed a school of orcas circling their boat. after being attacked in the Atlantic.
25ft beasts pounce French offshore boat Portugal and rammed the ship non-stop for 45 minutes before it sank.
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