Pictured - the damaged sailing boat in latest orca attack.
Orcas chased a yacht during bad weather off the coast of Morocco, sparking fears among British tourists on board that they would have to abandon the boat.
The orcas – also known as killer whales – began bumping the 20-metre boat during a pursuit that lasted for an hour.
Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell, both experienced sailors, said they thought of using the life raft to escape.
“I couldn't believe it when I saw them. It's extremely rare. We were sitting ducks," Ms Morris said.
"We were amazingly calm but underneath we were thinking, ‘Oh my God.'
“It wasn't until afterwards that we talked about being very scared.
“We got our valuables and our passports and talked about getting the life raft ready.
"It really didn't help that conditions were bad before the orcas. The boat was moving around a lot.”
Mr Bidwell and Ms Morris said that at one point during the incident the yacht's steering failed, but they were able to make it back to port.
The crew said the orcas were probably chasing parts of the boat's rudder.
They said the orcas began to chase the boat when it was 11km from Tangier in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The couple were napping, but were woken by the banging on the hull and shouts from crew members.
“The captain was very calm and orderly, which got everyone through,” Ms Morris said.
Mr Bidwell said “we were aware that if any of us got anxious, it would be infectious".
“We were able to do that because the skipper was so calm. Orcas enjoy the thrill of the chase, so ideally we'd have kept still. But that wasn't possible because of the winds," he said.
There have been more than 100 incidents involving orcas and boats in the Strait since 2020.
This month, orcas were seen off the UAE coast. The pair of orcas, more commonly associated with colder waters, circled a dugong off Abu Dhabi before swimming north to Jebel Ali in Dubai.
They continued their journey to Umm Al Quwain, where scientists lost track of them.
Environmental experts told The National there had been an increase in orca sightings off the coast of the Emirates in recent years due to an abundance of marine life in the area.
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Tomorrow 2021
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
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Ticket prices
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Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
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Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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On Women's Day
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Plastic tipping points
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• UAE's monumental and risky Mars Mission to inspire future generations, says minister
• Could the UAE drive India's economy?
• News has a bright future and the UAE is at the heart of it
• Architecture is over - here's cybertecture
• The National announces Future of News journalism competition
• Round up: Experts share their visions of the world to come
