In a dramatic and unprecedented series of events, a pod of orcas has wreaked havoc off the coast of Portugal, sinking one luxury sailboat and attacking two others within a mere 48 hours. These startling encounters, centered around Costa da Caparica and Fonte da Telha near Lisbon, have raised questions about the behavior of these majestic yet formidable marine creatures and their interactions with human vessels.
The saga began on Saturday when a luxury sailboat, part of the Nautic Squad Club, fell victim to a coordinated assault by at least three killer whales near Fonte da Telha beach. Dramatic footage captured the moment the orcas relentlessly struck the vessel, targeting its rudder with powerful blows. The boat tilted dangerously, rocking from side to side before succumbing to the onslaught and sinking beneath the waves. Despite desperate attempts by nearby vessels to tow it to safety, the yacht was lost to the depths. Fortunately, all five crew members were rescued unharmed and brought to the port of Cascais.
Specialist orca tracker Rui Alves, who had been monitoring a newly arrived pod in the region, was in contact with the vessel’s skipper during the attack. Alves had warned the crew about the presence of orcas just two days prior, advising them to navigate in shallower waters—less than 20 meters deep—to avoid encounters. “They were in more than 20 meters of water, and we advised them to go shallower,” Alves told The Sun. However, the sailors, perhaps underestimating the risk, chose to venture out into choppy waters, ignoring this critical safety measure. “The first push of the rudder was very strong,” Alves explained. “By that point, they couldn’t react much to the situation.”
The same weekend, a second sailboat in the same area faced a similar fate. A pod of orcas struck the vessel, shattering its rudder and leaving it without steering capabilities. With five people on board, the boat was rendered immobile and had to be towed to shore by the National Maritime Authority. The crew, shaken but unharmed, described the incident as harrowing, underscoring the growing unpredictability of these encounters.
The chaos continued into Monday when the coast guard was summoned to rescue four people aboard a sailboat 10 nautical miles off Costa da Caparica. The vessel endured “successive collisions with the bow caused by orcas,” according to Portugal’s National Republican Guard. The relentless attacks forced the crew to call for help, and they were safely evacuated to the port of Cascais. This third incident in just 48 hours has cemented an alarming pattern of orca behavior in the region, raising concerns among sailors and researchers alike.
At the heart of these incidents is a notorious pod of killer whales, led by a female orca dubbed “White Gladis.” Known for their bold and disruptive interactions with boats, this group has been linked to multiple attacks across Spanish and Portuguese waters. Aliki Kraterou, a journalist from The Sun, joined the Sea Shepherd France team in Barbate, Spain, as part of their Save the Iberian Orcas operation. The team, led by Captain Thomas Le Coz and Lamya Essemlali, is dedicated to documenting orca-vessel interactions in the Strait of Gibraltar and preventing retaliatory actions by sailors.
Essemlali emphasized that these killer whales, while formidable, pose no direct threat to humans. “We are just their guests; this is their home, and we are passing through,” she said philosophically. The team identified a “hot zone” south of Barbate where orca encounters are frequent, noting that these animals often roam between Spanish, Moroccan, and Portuguese waters, sometimes venturing as far north as Brittany, France, during winter.
The reasons behind these aggressive encounters remain a subject of scientific debate. Rui Alves suggests that orcas may target boat rudders out of playfulness rather than malice. “If an orca is busy hunting, they won’t care about a sailing boat,” he explained. “But if there’s no activity, they see a boat passing and approach it, trying to move the rudder from side to side. They play with it because it’s a moving part, but they’re very heavy—sometimes six tons—so they break it.”
This theory aligns with previous incidents, including attacks off the coast of Galicia, Spain, last week, where crews described the encounters as “very scary.” In July, another yacht narrowly escaped capsizing after an orca assault near Deba, Spain, linked to the White Gladis pod. A year earlier, a British yachtsman shared footage of his boat sinking after a similar attack, further highlighting the growing frequency of these events.
As these incidents multiply, experts urge sailors to exercise greater caution. Alves stressed that avoiding known orca hotspots or navigating in shallower waters could prevent such encounters. However, he acknowledged the challenge of predicting orca behavior: “The only thing that could have prevented the attack is not to be there at that moment.”
For now, the seas off Portugal and Spain remain a battleground between human ambition and the raw power of nature. The White Gladis pod and their kin serve as a reminder of the ocean’s untamed spirit, urging us to approach their domain with humility and respect. As Essemlali poignantly noted, “We need to be more humble regarding our place in the sea.”