[gafferduck]

Hi

I read in a UK national paper last week that a British couple hit a whale in the Virgin Islands as a result their yacht sank. Luckly they were saved by a passing yacht. Interested to hear more on this incident . For example was the Whale dead, did it attack the yacht?????

 

[OrioninHawaii]

This happened a couple years ago here- a couple left Hawaii to go back home and they ran through a pod of whales and their boat sank...
I don't think a whale has to "attack" all they have to do is be on the surface and it's like hitting a brick wall.
A couple humpbacks surfaced just behind our sailboat once and trust me...I could see how a boat could be heavily damaged...
A couple wrote a book about their boat being destroyed by attacking pilot whales...dunno...

 

[gafferduck]

Thanks for that ,wait to see if any more info.

 

[sailhog]

The whale can also hit the boat. The Essex of Nantucket was stove in by a whale 190 years ago, which Melville made famous. The book Survive the Savage Sea is the story of a family whose boat was stove in near the Galapagos. If you see a whale I think it would be wise to douse sails, turn on the engine, and head in the other direction.

 

[knothead]

Reading the title of your post, my first thought was, "what a stupid whale to run into an Island"

 

[sailak]

Having read two different accounts of sailing vessels sunk due to collisions with a whale you can imagine my thoughts yesterday when a Humpback breached about 150' off the bow. <G>