Scientists at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Committee’s 2024 meeting held in Bled, Slovenia, have reported some theories regarding orca encounters in the Atlantic. And the main one is the suggestion that the orca are bored. For the first time in a couple of generations the orca are well-fed, have leisure time and are […]
Developer Vilamoura World Group is constructing a new marina at Vilamoura on the Algarve coast. The group’s owners — a group of investors connected to British fund Arrow Global — say three pontoons with 68 berths will be installed, equipped with the latest technologies to provide first-class facilities, user comfort and environmental sustainability. All 68 berths will […]
It’s been a year of numbers. Orca have sunk two boats, memberships to orca Facebook groups have rocketed past 50k, and the Cruising Association has seen a massive drop off in incidents being reported to its database (launched in June 2022) . . . even though the number of incidents doubled at the start of […]
The Cruising Association has created an online research library to document reports of orca interactions gathered from skippers worldwide. Orca attacks on boats have been making global headlines in recent months, after a spate of ramming and other interaction by orca off the Iberian coastline. Some experts suggest that the whales are teaching their young […]
The Ocean Race has released an amazing video of yet another orca attacking a yacht. It was taken by competitor Team Jajo, off Gibraltar, last week (22 June 2023). Two of the VO65 boats racing in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint had direct encounters with orca on the same afternoon. Team Jajo and Mirpuri Trifork […]
The Cruising Association (CA) is hosting a free webinar for members and non-members entitled ‘Orca and Yachts: Fact, Fiction and Fear’. It’s next Thursday 18 May 2023, at 1900 BST. Anyone can attend, but must register in advance. The CA says it is committed to sharing knowledge and enhancing research on the phenomenon of orca […]
A group of tourists say they were lucky to survive after their tour boat capsized off the coast of the Algarve in southern Portugal on Monday afternoon (20 February 2023), and several lifejackets failed to activate. The National Maritime Authority of Portugal (Autoridade Maritima Nacional; AMN) reports the vessel had 36 people on board, including four […]
Scandinavian boat manufacturer Windy Scandinavia has appointed Skyboat as its new Portuguese dealer. Headquartered in Vilamoura, Portugal. Skyboat was originally founded in Gdynia, Poland in 1995 by Grzegorz Skalbania. Since 2012 the firm has served as the exclusive Windy dealer in Poland. With the recent expansion into the Portuguese boating market, Skyboat is now also […]
The last couple of years have proved perilous for some sailing the Iberian coastline. Once boats could amble at leisure, but since 2020 there have been over 100 orca ‘interactions’ where boats have been spun around and repeatedly rammed, two of which incidents have ended in yachts sinking. According to the Cruising Association, 15 per […]
Four crew members have been rescued after their boat was reportedly attacked by orcas (1 November 22). The incident took place 25kms off the coast of Viana do Castelo. This is the second incident which has ended with sinking this summer, says the Portugal Resident. The crew, who were pronounced physically well and not in […]
The Cruising Association (CA) and Groupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica (GTOA) have partnered to launch a new online orca reporting form. The aim is to investigate orcas interacting with vessels along the Iberian Peninsula. And, crucially, to note how many uneventful passages take place. The phenomenon of orcas damaging small yachts and other vessels along the […]