Fail to prepare, Prepare to fail

While Dave has been doing practical jobs on Seascape down in Cardiff, making sure it’s ready for our rapidly approaching departure, I’ve been busying myself with the admin planning - and there’s quite a lot of it. Formalities, entry and exit procedures, paperwork (for the boat and for us) and legal requirements vary between each country.

Whilst researching the countries and waters on our route I’ve come across lots of information about pods of Iberian Orcas ‘attacking’ yachts off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. A small sub-population, numbering about 15 orcas, seem to be causing havoc and raising anxiety levels amongst sailors in that area. Reports of them ramming yachts and biting rudders have increased over the past five years. 

Conflicting advice on what to do if you encounter an orca probably isn’t helping quell the anxiety. The list is endless - 

• sail in shallower waters v sailing in deeper waters
• engine on and power away v engine off and ‘play dead’
• autopilot/depth sounder off v autopilot on
• throw sand into the sea and banging pots v hiding quietly out of sight

The RYA and the  Cruising Association have issued guidance for those preparing for passage in the area, as have the Spanish and Portuguese authorities. The No Foreign Land App, www.orcaiberica.org and www.orcas.pt have started mapping sightings and attacks. 

Should we be worried? Should we change our plans? Good friends of ours who own a boat (and have a holiday home in the Algarve) started an email to us recently with the sentence ‘We are intrigued that you are planning to sail through ‘orca alley’!!!” Anyway we’ll go armed with all the information and official advice we’ve read, together with two packs of Milliput 2 part epoxy putty! 

When we worked out in Türkiye in the 1980’s a skipper on one of the yachts we were looking after, hit a charted underwater rock near beautiful Cleopatra’s Island up the Gulf of Gokova. The skipper motored it slowly into shallow waters from where he called us for assistance. Dave and Ahmet, our Turkish employee, managed to make a number of dives using a snorkel and mask to fill the fist shaped depression in the hull with Milliput. The epoxy putty can set, cure and harden entirely underwater, if required, to enable a temporary patch and a waterproof seal. This meant the yacht could then be safely taken to the nearest boatyard to be lifted out for a full repair. 

We’ve encountered whales before when we sailed across the Atlantic in Ocean Venture, a 13 meter Oyster 435, back in 1984. In the dark of night we were struggling to fathom out what the whooshing noise was from the stern of the yacht. As dawn broke all became clear as we saw a few whales approaching us from the stern, surfing the large rolling waves, surfacing to spout air from their blow holes and then diving under the yacht. They turned their huge bodies upside down under the hull exposing their lighter underside before re-emerging at the bow of the yacht. They swam with us for a while repeating the process, after our initial concerns we realised they meant us no harm and we were thrilled to have seen them. Our photos aren’t  great but you might just be able to make out the fin of one of the whales in the water to our port side. 

The second largest creature in the world after the Blue Whale, Fin Whales are rare to see, living in deep ocean waters. They are around 20-25 meters in length, swim very fast (up to 23mph) and only occasionally surface for air. A whale watching website says “Even though fairly shy and reserved when it comes to showing off their unique tail flukes and acrobatic breaching skills, fin whales are often very friendly with boats”. Let’s hope the Orcas are equally as friendly should we encounter them.