Killer Whales

Sunday evening was distinguished by firework displays along the Spanish coast. We understand that they were to celebrate the ‘Assumption of Mary’ whatever that means. When attending a firework display on land, it seems that the rockets shoot up really high before their fulfilment – watching from the sea it always surprises me that, when viewed from offshore, how low the rockets actually do ascend before bursting forth.

Even 40 miles away from the Straits of Gibraltar, we experienced a continual adverse current of up to 2.8 knots. I guess this is not surprising as the Med is huge and hot and the evaporated water must need replacing.

As we slowly approached Gibraltar, a fog descended, and we could hear a cacophony of fog horns from the shipping in the straits. I had had the radar replaced by French contractors in my absence last year. I was not at all happy with the work they carried out as they reported having difficulty running the (different) cable up the mast to the radar and had actually cut the cable and installed an external joint (which they charged me for) at the radar, introducing an unnecessary vulnerability. They also said they used the cable to the tannoy to pull the new cable into the mast. I expected them (as would be good practice) to pull a replacement tannoy cable into place alongside the new radar cable but it would now seem that they did not – I despair. With no tannoy, we could not automatically send fog signals but with the radar and AIS display on the plotter we were pretty confident we at least could navigate safely.

We had sent an Email to Queensway Quay marina in Gibraltar requesting a visitor berth. Not having received a reply, I phoned to be told by the duty  officer that the office was closed on a Sunday but that he thought the marina was fully booked. I have stayed in Queensway Quay before and it is new, pristine, well served by bars and restaurants and central to the town. The alternative is out of town and next to the Airport runway so we were keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that our previous patronage and short stay might ‘swing it’.

We thankfully received confirmation that a berth was available and took the opportunity to fuel before proceeding on to the Marina. We took on 366 litres for £273 which is pretty cheap compared to UK pump prices. There is now considerable form filling required on-line before entry into Gibraltar can be allowed and the Covid regulations mean that we could not step ashore until all of the documentation had been inspected, copied and approved.

The Nelson pub and a few pints of Speckled Hen followed by an excellent steak in the Gaucho restaurant were a welcome reward for the 6 days at sea and 870 miles, nearly all under engine.

Quite apart from the weather which is looking dire as far as our forecast can predict, we have learned of another extremely worrying warning. A number of yachts, including two from this marina have been attacked by killer whales and there is a real danger in the area from Tarifa to Barbate and beyond. We came across this story on the internet. – “A British sailing crew of three ‘feared for their lives’ as they were attacked by a pod of killer whales off the Strait of Gibraltar. The orcas were said to have slammed into the yacht for two hours, biting off chunks of the vessel and causing considerable damage.” This YouTube clip, showing the orcas is causing anxiety:- Killer Whales Attack. Wisdom appears to be to hug the coast as far as practical until well beyond the straits. I have mentioned in a previous blog about our ‘Ultra Sonic Anti Fouling’ system and how it appeared to discourage dolphin visits, I may be ‘clutching at straws’ but, it could possibly also discourage orcas – I have already turned it back on – in the Marina! The danger apparently begins to recede at the end of August when the tuna  migration diminishes and the orcas move on – apparently to continue their attacks off Finistere, also on our route!

We also have a scheme if we are attacked. We plan to fully raise the keel and head into very shallow water – we draw only 1m with the keel fully raised. I do, however, remember some David Attenborough footage of orcas actually crashing up onto a beach to take seals… We were also given some candid advice, to pour bleach around the yacht. This would be a last resort but we have ‘shipped’ 5 litres just in case.

Richard writes:-

Oh God I’m in big trouble!

Mooring in Queensway Quay, Gibraltar, entails picking up ‘slime line’, ropes fixed to the seabed that secure the front of the boat. Unfortunately, these get disgustingly fouled up over time with slimy sea stuff! Once secure, the resulting mess on deck has to be washed away and, in the process, yours truly managed to drop the bucket overboard! Well, with sodomy and the lash looming, I had to scour the seabed with a grappling line and hope that I got lucky. And I did!!! I could see the disappointment in Saddam’s face.

We’re casting off early tomorrow, destination Lagos. Very exciting because the skipper says we will be attacked by Killer Whales and that Peter will be used as bait if he doesn’t behave. And it’s exciting because Peter never behaves!

Peter and I explored the Rock this afternoon. After making friends with the monkeys we descended the mountain looking for various points of interest, which were suggested in their brochure but the sign posting was abysmal.

In the end, we walked down the mountain, missing most of the listed attractions and ending up in a Moorish Castle, too late to pick up the laundry.

Again, Saddam’s patience has been stretched to the limit and capital punishment was on the cards. However, a long beer and a bottle of Rose did the trick and Peter and I survived our little adventure.