Killer whales sink $128,000 yacht in 2-hour attack in Mediterranean

Orcas relentlessly ravaged a yacht on Wednesday in a “terrifying” two-hour attack that only ended when the $128,680 vessel sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

Robert Powell, 59, and his crew had just completed 22 hours of their 10-day journey from Vilamoura, Portugal, to Greece when the group set its sights on the £100,000 (or $128,680) sailboat.

“I didn’t think it was a joke at all, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the boat’s weak points and knew how to sink it,” Powell, who was actually planning to celebrate his birthday on board the boat, told SWNS.

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

The five orcas circled the 11-meter-long sailboat and took turns smashing it to pieces around 8 p.m. Powell compared the coordinated attack to the bloodbath of the wolves.

The owner of the IT company said he felt the first impact on the bottom of the boat, named Bonhomme William, and assumed they had driven over a rock.

“As I was looking around the boat to see if I could see anything – I was going about 5 to 6 knots – it hit again,” Powell recalled.

“On the second stroke, I looked over the stern of the boat and could see the dark shape of a killer whale in the water.”

The group of five shells initially concentrated on the rudder, so that the sailboat became unsteerable after about 15 hits.

The orcas then separated and each focused on their own section of the outside of the boat, including the keel and stern.

“They were circling. It was like watching wolves hunting,” Powell said.

“They would come in turns – sometimes two would come at the same time and strike. So it was pretty scary.”

It took an hour and a half for the hull to finally give way and crack under the pressure of the whales, allowing water to enter the Bonhomme William’s main living area.

Although they were only three kilometers off the coast of Spain – and the crew radioed for help immediately after the attack began – it took two hours for help to arrive.

Fortunately, a Spanish salvage ship helped them abandon the stricken vessel minutes before it sank 39 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.

Powell, who lost his birthday trip and his fancy boat, said he tried everything from throwing firecrackers into the water to turning off the engine to fend off the attack, but the capsule was determined.

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

The former boat owner is convinced that the herd – which included two teenagers – could be the same group that has been responsible for terrorising other captains in European waters in recent years.

“I feel like this group is made up of people who can get anything done. I think they knew what they were doing, I’m sure of that,” Powell said.

In May, a horde of killer whales sank a 15-meter-long yacht in Moroccan waters after repeatedly crashing into the ship.

Orcas also disrupted a sailing race last year when a boat travelling from the Netherlands to Italy had a 15-minute standoff with the mammals, forcing the crew to lower their sails and create a commotion to fend them off.

Some studies suggest that orcas target boats for fun.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone shoots one of these killer whales,” Powell warned ominously.

“The fight between man and animal is getting worse. Fortunately, none of us were in the water or injured.”

“And it’s a lottery whether they hit you or not.”