A sailboat sank after being rammed by an orca attack on Saturday off the coast of Costa da Caparica. In statements, the skipper of a nearby vessel that provided the first aid recounted how the incident occurred.
“I was observing dolphins with clients when I saw the sailboat making erratic movements. Then I realized it was being attacked by an orca,” said João Filipe.
It was “just one” orca that made “two or three hits” on the Nautic Squad’s sailing club boat, and the attack lasted “about five minutes.” Nonetheless, it was “enough to break the hull of the boat near the rudder, leaving the sailboat without directional control” and with “water ingress.”
The “first thing” João Filipe did was to advise the “crew, who appeared to be inexperienced, to use all means to remove water and place as much weight as possible on the left side of the boat” so that “the breach would remain as much out of the water as possible.”
Despite the efforts, “more water was entering than could be removed,” and the skipper decided “to try to tow the boat,” but they were still an hour away from the nearest marina.
“In the first few minutes of towing, we realized that too much water was coming in and the boat was slowly sinking,” he said, adding that they then decided “to abandon towing the boat and remove the people on board.”
“We continued to try to call for help from the authorities, as they might have had more appropriate means to handle the situation, but unfortunately, the boat sank before that could happen. The whole process took just over an hour. The interaction of the orca with the boat lasted about five minutes, followed by the time it took for the water to enter the boat and for it to sink,” he explained.
This morning, in a statement sent to newsrooms, Nautic Squad already indicated that the sailboat sank “in less than an hour” after the rudders and hull were destroyed.
“There were four people on board, all rescued safely and uninjured. The attack destroyed the rudders and damaged the hull, leading to an uncontrollable ingress of water even with all mobilized means,” the club said.
“The Oceanview may have been lost to the depths of the sea, but the support we experienced on the surface showed us that being a member of a Club makes all the difference. In good times, we share achievements. In bad times, no one is alone,” they added.
Oceanview was the first sailboat of Nautic Squad, which assures that “despite the pain of seeing such a special boat go,” the episode “was marked by something greater: the union and readiness of the nautical community.”
It should be noted that nine people sailing on Saturday in two boats off the coast of Cascais and the beach of Fonte da Telha had to be assisted due to “an interaction with orcas,” announced the National Maritime Authority.
In Cascais, the vessel was removed from the site with the help of another boat that was nearby.
As for the sailboat off the beach of Fonte da Telha, it was transported to the Oeiras shelter port.
