Alex Trelinski
A YACHT travelling under the British flag was sunk in the Strait of Gibraltar after being attacked by killer whales on Wednesday.
All three crew members of ‘Bonhomme William’ which had set sail from Gibraltar, were taken to Barbate by a Maritime Rescue vessel.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Tarifa was radioed by the crew saying their craft was inoperable after several whales hit it some two miles off Punta Camarinal.
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The Maritime Rescue vessel Salvamar Enif went to the area and received a further call from the yacht saying that the whale attack was continuing and had caused a leak.
The Salvamar Enif located the crew with the help of flares and saw their half-sunk vessel.
The crew was saved at around 11.30pm and were in good health.
It’s the latest in a series of recent incidents involving boats and whales in the area.
At the start of July, the ‘Kelba’ had to be towed to Ceuta after five giant whales attacked it.
A yacht was sunk in May when the ‘Alboran Cognac’ was attacked some 14 miles from Cape Spartel, in Tangier.
The two crew members were rescued by an oil tanker sailing to Gibraltar, with their vessel left adrift after the rudder broke and a leak broke out due to the whale collision.
Also that month, the sailboats ‘Malaika’ and ‘Galaxia‘ had to be towed to Barbate due to damage caused by whale attacks.
