With all the reports of Orcas attacking boats in the vicinity of Gibraltar and the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, former sailor Runi Alves put together an orca information web site, with maps of where attacks have happened, press accounts and a member’s messageboard for exchanging info. The site also has an orca “Do’s and Don’ts” page. A best practices list based on previous orca attacks on boats. If you’re headed or the Strait of Gibraltar or the Atlantic Iberian coast, might be a good idea to review the list.
In a related orca note, sailor Florian Rutsch has been reported by the NY Times to have attempted using heavy metal rock music played via an underwater speaker as a way to drive off attacking orcas. That effort was reportedly a failure, though. Which doesn’t seem surprising. A bunch of youth, ocean-going toughs probably only got jazzed up from the music. Maybe sailors should try ambient drone sounds to calm down the feisty apex predators. Maybe even put them to sleep.
