Shocking moment killer whale circles yacht before tearing off its rudder leaving crew adrift in water
THIS is the shocking moment a killer whale circled a yacht and teared off its rudder – leaving its crew adrift in open water.
The horrifying ordeal happened off the coast of Gibraltar when the 48ft vessel was touring through the Mediterranean.
Nail-biting footage showed a massive orca surging from the depths as it zoned in on the catamaran’s stern.
It then latches on to the rudder and rips it – shaking the massive boat uncontrollably for a split second.
The whale is then seen backing off as it takes the rudder with it.
A man in the video can be heard saying: “We lost both rudders.”
Daniel Kriz, the captain of the boat, remained calm during the attack as the 61-year-old veteran seaman claimed to have witnessed many close calls before.
He told the Daily Mail a pod of four or five orcas were involved in the ambush.
He said: “I advised my crew to be calm. Don’t interact with the orcas. There is not much one can do. They are very powerful and smart.”
The Czech skipper was reportedly involved in a haunting attack in 2020, when he was surrounded by eight killer whales who taunted him for more than an hour.
Daniel claimed the smart animals had refined their skills since then.
He said: “Looks like they knew exactly what they are doing, they didn’t touch anything else.
“Suddenly one big adult Orca started chasing us. In a couple of minutes, she was under the boat and that was when we realized there was still a little piece of fiberglass left and she wanted to finish the job. After that we didn’t see them anymore.’
Following the incident, the crew were able to get the boat to a nearby port.
However, Daniel had to fork out £2000 for a new rudder.
Orca attacks on boats have become more common in the last few years.
Just last month, a pod of rogue killer whales tried to sink a Brit tourists’ boat in an hour long ramming attack.
Another orca called “White Gladis” has a track record for terrorising sailors around the coast of Gibraltar.