A four-person crew survived an 18-hour Pacific Ocean ordeal after a pod of sperm whales rammed and sank their 52-foot yacht.
The shipmates aboard the Tai Tam had departed from New Zealand and were sailing approximately 250 nautical miles north of remote Norfolk Island when disaster struck last weekend. Australian Jemma Cooper, who was steering at the time, said the attack came without warning.
“There was sort of a loud thud. The whole boat was pushed sideways,” she said.
Cooper then spotted the massive predators lurking nearby. “We looked out to our port side, and there were six to eight, a pod, of whales there. So then it became clear that that’s what it was,” she told AFP.
The impact jolted her husband, Jeremy Cooper, from sleep. He immediately recognized the danger. The collision destroyed the vessel’s steering gear and tore a gaping hole in its starboard side, leaving the yacht taking on water rapidly and the crew unable to navigate.
“All the steering gear was smashed on the starboard side, and there was a significant amount of water coming in,” Jeremy told AFP.
French crew member Martin Jaffre described the structural damage as severe, with gashes in the hull and cracked fiberglass. New Zealand crew member Terry Hetherington said the situation grew dire enough that the crew declared a “full mayday” at 1 p.m. New Zealand time Saturday.
While awaiting rescue, the four fought to keep the vessel afloat. They bailed water continuously, and Jaffre swam beneath the boat to inspect the damage, helping stuff holes with any available materials.
By Saturday night, the yacht was doomed. The crew abandoned ship for a life raft, severing their tether to the sinking vessel to avoid being dragged under. New Zealand Defence Force aerial footage captured one crew member waving to a search aircraft, with later images showing the Tai Tam slipping beneath the waves as the raft drifted in open ocean.
A 470-foot container ship, the MV Sofrana Surville, reached the stranded sailors early Sunday morning. None of the four sustained injuries, and they reportedly shared coffee with the container ship’s captain after climbing aboard.
“It was wonderful, wonderful, and just a terrible, terrible ending — but luckily no loss of life,” Cooper said.
Rescue Coordination Centre Operations Manager Mike Clulow commended both the crew and their rescuers. “This was a well-coordinated and executed rescue,” Clulow said. “The crew of the yacht did all the right things, and it was unfortunate to have struck a whale in open water.”
He emphasized their preparedness proved critical. “They were well prepared and the early activation of their EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) was key to helping get them to safety,” he said. “It is an excellent reminder that being prepared when going to sea can save your life.”
Sperm whales rank among the ocean’s largest predators, typically measuring 50 to 60 feet in length, and possess the documented ability to sink ships. The species holds “vulnerable” status with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The crew was last reported heading to the nearest port to disembark from the container ship.