S/V Spindrift

Some of you might not know there’s something strange happening in the waters off the Iberian Peninsula, and since we are passing through this area it has my full attention. Below are photos of our neighbors here in the yard in Lagos. You can see for yourself the rudder damage. 4 months later they finally got their new rudder.

Since 2020, a small subpopulation of Atlantic orcas has developed a habit of targeting sailboats — specifically their rudders — in the Strait of Gibraltar and along the coasts of Spain and Portugal. Over 200 interactions were recorded in 2023 alone. Seven yachts have been sunk. The most recent went down off Peniche, Portugal in October 2025.

Nobody knows exactly why. The leading theory centers on a female orca researchers named White Gladis, who may have had a traumatic encounter with a vessel and began interacting with boats in response. Younger orcas appear to have picked it up the way any tight-knit social group picks up a trend — by watching and copying. The behavior is specific and deliberate: they approach from behind, target the rudder, and use their heads and bodies to push, lever, and bite until it fails.

This hits close to home for us. Last fall, Spindrift sailed from Brittany down to Lagos, Portugal — right through some of the most active orca territory, during peak season. And this March, we’ll be heading out of Lagos and through the Strait of Gibraltar. Both passages, both during the windows when interactions are most frequently reported.

The good news is that encounters have dropped significantly — down to 67 in 2025 — largely because sailors are now routing through shallower coastal waters where the orcas tend not to venture.

We’ll be doing the same. Eyes open, rudder intact.