From sinking boats and feasting on shark livers to dining on whale tongue and tossing porpoises around for fun, orcas are displaying some fascinating—and sometimes terrifying—behaviors
The whole “sinking sailboats” thing is massivly overblown.
The only boats that have been sunk had their rudder shafts broken. Other boats survived but had their rudders broken. There is video of such an “attack” and it shows an orca rubbing its back against the boat’s rudder.
Two things people have to realize about modern sailboats:
The rudders are long, thin wings that protrude below the boat several feet
There’s been a serious decline in sailboat build quality and toughness over the past few decades.
If you watch the video of an orca “attack” it seems rather clear that the orca is using the rudder to scratch its back! The “attack” is not violent. This is not Mellville’s white whale stoving the ship in. It’s an animal floating under the boat rubbing itself against the tip of the rudder. The boat sinks when the rudder shaft assembly is too under-built to take these forces.
The whole “sinking sailboats” thing is massivly overblown.
The only boats that have been sunk had their rudder shafts broken. Other boats survived but had their rudders broken. There is video of such an “attack” and it shows an orca rubbing its back against the boat’s rudder.
Two things people have to realize about modern sailboats:
If you watch the video of an orca “attack” it seems rather clear that the orca is using the rudder to scratch its back! The “attack” is not violent. This is not Mellville’s white whale stoving the ship in. It’s an animal floating under the boat rubbing itself against the tip of the rudder. The boat sinks when the rudder shaft assembly is too under-built to take these forces.