Sailing stopped as killer whales attack yachts off Spanish coast

A mysterious spate of attacks by orca whales on boats off Spain's coast has prompted authorities to ban people setting sail from the country's northwestern tip. The unprecedented attacks have crippled vessels and terrified crew members, and created a slew of theories as to what could have angered the whales. Spain’s Merchant Marine agency has decreed an approximately 60-mile stretch of Atlantic coastline between Ferrol and the Estaca de Bares cape in Galicia out of bounds for small boats in response to the destructive ramming raids. “I never expected to have to ban sailing in an area due to orca attacks,” Benito Núñez, Merchant Marine director, told local media. Mr Núñez says the thinking behind the sailing ban is so that “the orcas stop seeing boats they find attractive in the area, and move on”. The agency says that it has registered 29 orca attacks, most of which are on fibreglass yachts, in the same area near Spain’s northwestern tip, with several leading to damage to rudders and crews begging for help to return to shore. Mr Núñez wants to prevent conflict between people and orcas, whose apparent sense of fun could put sailors in danger.