[imagesource: Robert Powell / SWNS]

A British yacht captain has told how a pod of orcas sunk his £100,000 (R2,3 million) boat during a “terrifying” two-hour attack – in the Mediterranean Sea.

Robert Powell and his crew were just under a day into their 10-day trip from Vilamoura, Portugal, to Greece when the pod set its sights on his precious vessel, taking time to make sure it sank to the bottom of the sea.

The 59-year-old sailor said the pack of five orcas encircled his 11-metre sailing boat “like wolves”, taking it in turn to smash into the ship as he sailed off the coast of Spain around nightfall, somewhere in the Strait of Gibraltar.

“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, who was meant to be celebrating his birthday aboard the boat, told SWNS.

“Their sole intention was to sink the boat, and that was it.”

Image: Robert Powell / SWNS

When the IT company owner said he felt the first hit on the bottom of the boat, named the Bonhomme William, he had assumed they 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,” Powell recalled.

“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.”

That’s when the carnage began. The pod of five first focused on the rudder, rendering the sailboat unable to steer after about 15 hits. Then, the apex sea creatures separated and each concentrated on their own section of the boat’s exterior, including the keel and 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.”

Powell said he followed the orca encounter advice: he let go of the wheel, tried to outrun the orcas and put the boat in reverse, all to no avail.

It took an hour and a half until the hull finally buckled beneath the whales’ pressure and split, causing water to gush into the main living area of the Bonhomme William.

Image: Robert Powell / SWNS

Powell – who lost his birthday trip and his ritzy boat – said he even threw pingers and firecrackers into the water.

“They took no notice whatsoever,” said Powell. “After 40 minutes of trying to outrun them, putting the boat in reverse, they had disabled the rudder. That is when I saw two very big orcas sitting off the boat, around 10-15m away from the other three. I decided to put out a Mayday because, at that moment, I felt I was in a bit of trouble.”

Image: Robert Powell / SWNS

It took two hours before help arrived, with a Spanish salvage vessel helping them abandon the stricken ship, minutes before it sunk 40 metres below the Mediterranean’s surface.

“It was a very long attack, and it was really the violence of the attack that surprised me,” he said.

The former boat owner believes the pod, including two juveniles, could be the same group responsible for terrorising other skippers in European waters in recent years.

“I have a feeling that this group are boat sinkers — I think they knew what they were doing, I’m sure of it,” Powell said.

Powell reckons it’s only a matter of time before “someone shoots one of these killer whales”, ominously warning that “The fight between man and beast is going to get worse.”

Some studies suggest orcas are targeting boats for fun. But it’s no fun when someone is about to get seriously hurt.

[source:nypost]&yachtingworld]