Fortunately, to date, the majority of collisions have caused only minor damage and after backing off, both parties have been able to carry on to their destinations with only scratches and headaches.
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| Whale breaching |
However, there are three reasons why collisions are going to become more frequent in the future. The first is that every year there are more of us out there cruising. The second is that as boat design constantly improves and also boats get bigger, boatspeed is ever increasing, so the likelihood of collisions goes up accordingly. The third reason of course is that since the moratorium on hunting whales has been practiced by the majority of countries, the global whale population has been gradually increasing. At what point this will reach critical mass, no one can tell, but obviously there are many more whales out there now than say twenty years ago.
Collisions with whales and dolphins are becoming an increasing concern for offshore cruisers, as I outlined in a previous post. But up until recently there has been no serious attempt made to quantify the level of actual collision events, or to plot their geographical distribution. Obviously, having some idea of where and when collisions might take place would be really useful information for any crew intending to sail through areas where whales are prevalent, especially as the consequences of a collision with a whale can have dire consequences for both yacht and whale.
Thankfully, a recently published scientific paper by Fabian Ritter has made a good start in correcting that deficiency. Through an intensive internet search, and subsequently via a co-operative link involving an online questionnaire with destination voyaging website Noonsite, he has been able to piece together a picture of the current situation with regards to whale collisions with yachts worldwide. The paper is well argued and accessible, and makes for interesting reading for anyone with an interest in whales and dolphins, or planning to sail through waters they are known to frequent.
What Is The Scale Of The Problem?
The numbers are sobering, with a total of 111 collisions and 57 near misses recorded between 1996 – 2010, with 75% of all incidents between 2002 – 2010 suggesting an increasing trend. The North Atlantic topped the regional list for incidents with 41.8%, followed by the South Pacific with 16.4%. There were several reports of crew members being hurt in collisions as well as damage to the yacht involved. In 42.9% of the cases where damage was reported, sailing could only be continued with some restriction, whilst seven strikes (11.1%) resulted in a total loss of the vessel – ouch!
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| Injured whale following collision |
It is not the case that all of the incidents involved a vessel simply ramming a snoozing whale – in some cases surfacing animals hit the underside of vessels, which might support the generally held idea that running an engine or generator in the presence of whales may help avoid such incidents. And there were several reports of animals displaying inquisitive or aggressive behaviour, including physical contact with vessels of varying degrees of severity, perhaps the most extreme of which can be seen in this video clip from South Africa.
Keeping a good look out must help, and should certainly be considered in areas known to be hotspots for whales, as in 48.6% of collisions the animals were not seen beforehand. Many whale species gather in loose aggregations, so seeing one whale may be a sign that there are others around. Obviously, this is a lot easier with a large crew, and it’s also the case that many collisions (17.1%) took place during the hours of darkness where a careful watch might not make much difference. And understanding ways that might help you avoid a collision when in the company of whales, as I outlined in my previous post, should be required knowledge for any offshore sailing crew, especially those about to cross the North Atlantic in the annual migration – like us.
Russell Leaper, a whale researcher with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and himself a keen sailor has been co-ordinating data collection on collision incidents for the IWC. He commented that ‘ we have received no reports of apparently pre-meditated aggressive attacks from whales and most reports of aggressive behaviour towards yachts are likely to be whales that were startled and then thrash around’. He also added that ‘we still don’t really know if making noise like switching on the engine reduces risk but if you know that whales are around the safest thing is to slow down and keep a good lookout. If you do see a whale in the distance remember there may be others much closer.’
It’s unlikely that the full picture emerged during this study, though, and given that the statistics indicate an increasing level of near-misses and collisions, the International Whaling Commission have initiated an online Ship Strike Database with specific reference to yachts. So if you missed out on the original survey and have been involved in a near miss or collision with a whale or dolphin, a report submitted through the IWC Database will help to build a more complete picture of this worrying trend, and help researchers come up with more informed ways to help us, and the whales, sleep more easily.
Extract article courtesy Attainable Adventure Cruising and Colin Speedie. Video and images courtesy YouTube
You can read more about sightings and incidents with whales and dolphins in my ebook 'Sailing Adventures in Paradise' including '101 Dollar Saving Tips for Cruisers' downloadable from my website www.sailboat2advenute.com
1 comment:
I have read in many publications that the video showing the whale "attacking " the yacht was a [Capetown] setup/hoax--including a confession from the yacht crew involved.--What I would like to see again is the trailer-sailer that was towed outo sea by awhale at fraser island while tangled in the anchor warp!
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