NW Spain, Finisterre: Speedy Repairs after Orca Damage
Orcas have been interacting with yachts off the western Iberian Peninsula for some time now, widely reported on Noonsite and the web. SY Carissa was on passage from northern Europe to the Canary Islands to join the ARC when they encounterd orcas at night off the coast of NW Spain, having just left La Coruna. Here they tell their story.
Published 2 years ago
- Safe and Sound at Las Palmas, Canary Islands.
SY Carissa’s skipper Satu Pitkänen told Noonsite that Team Ocean Ladies were on their way from Helsinki, Finland to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to join the ARC, when they encountered the pod of Orcas on their first night at sea after leaving La Coruna in North West Spain.
Our journey started from Helsinki at the end of August and everything was going as planned. Fun sailing with lovely ladies!
After leaving La Coruna, the next stop was supposed to be Porto (Portugal), but everything changed during that first night as SY Carissa met Orcas at 11 pm.
The log report from that night: “We were sailing peacefully, when at 11 pm the helmslady and skipper Raija felt a strong push against the boat’s rudder. At the same time first mate Paula saw an Orca next to our boat along with a lot of bubbles and whirling around. We lost steerability and the helm rolled around uncontrollably”.
The Orca attack that would last for 2.5 hours had begun!
We Were Prepared!
As there have been several Orca attacks in these waters over the past year, we knew what was happening and we were prepared. We had studied the instructions given by authorities and practiced what to do in case the Orcas would attack. Each crew member had her own task. So when the incident happened, we immediately took down the sails, switched off all electronic equipment, contacted authorities via VHF radio and tried to remain calm and as quiet as possible. All communication to the Coast Guard was in English and the same with VHF contact. The sea was calm and the only movement was caused by the Orcas pushing our boat around.
We tried going in reverse, but because steerability was lost right away when the attack started, it was impossible to reverse the boat. Otherwise official instructions were followed
After 1 hour 45 minutes the Spanish sea rescue reached us and towed our boat to safe harbor at Finisterre in Galicia, a small harbor with a marina. The Orcas kept on attacking us while in tow.
Luckily there was no damage to any of the crew. Our Swan 441 lost 30 cm of her rudder and the steering cable broke.
- Raija and Paula with the Spanish sea rescue team on the night of the Orca attack.
A Massive Repair Operation
The next morning the massive operation to fix the boat started. Raija and Paula did a lot of work to find help, with a repair job that looked almost impossible to achieve with such a tight schedule. But with amazing help from the local women things started to happen: a company to fix the rudder was found, our insurance company organized all the needed people fast and Nautor Swan was contacted to provide necessary help to make sure that the rudder would be fixed just as it should for this boat!
We stayed in Finisterra for 11 days. We had a tight schedule but all the related companies and people did absolutely their best on the repairs, which could have taken weeks.
We are still amazed with all the help and support and all the publicity that Ocean Ladies received. In less than two weeks Carissa had a shiny rudder and the next leg to Madeira started.
Route Change
Because of the delay we had to change our route and we did a leg straight from Finisterra to Madeira, a little bit more than 700 nautical miles.
Team Ocean Ladies and SY Carissa finally arrived in Las Palmas on 24th of October at 8.45 pm, just as planned, although it wasn’t the easiest journey from Helsinki! There, the team continued their preparations for ARC across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.
Satu Pitkänen
SY Carissa
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
About Ocean Ladies
Ocean Ladies is a Finnish group of women who share a passion for the great oceans and want to remind everyone to care and protect our seas. We want to empower ordinary women to follow their dreams and develop women’s off-shore sailing. Our slogan Ocean Ladies – For Cleaner Seas, reminds us all about the importance of our environment and how we should all act in a sustainable way so that also the next generations could enjoy clean oceans!
- After the Bay of Biscay, ARC Team final training leg! From the bow: Raija Alapeteri, skipper. Satu Pitkänen, Elina Ihamäki, Tiia Niemi, Satu Toivonen, Tuula Kuivanen, Tuula Korkee. Missing from the picture ARC Team first mate Paula Rissanen and crew member Soili Stenroos, replaced this leg by Tiia.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Related to following destinations: Canary Islands, Finland, Gran Canaria, Gulf of Finland, Helsinki, La Coruna, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, North West Spain, Spain
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Atlantic and Caribbean, Atlantic Crossing, Cruising Information, Orcas and Yachts, Rallies, Routing
Comments
