While traveling by sailboat off the coast of Brittany, John Ostermeyer (66 years old) and his wife Chris Simmons (63 years old) were attacked by two orcas, HLN report,
According to Flemish media, the couple, who live in Aartselaar, left the port of Breskens in the Netherlands on May 4 for what they call “the trip of their lives.” They planned to sail as far as the Azores. John and Chris are experienced sailors and their journey so far has been uneventful. But on Tuesday morning, when they were 65 kilometers off the coast of Brittany, Chris noticed that the autopilot had stopped working and she alerted her husband, who saw two orcas circling their boat. One of them pounces on them while a piece of their boat’s hull is already floating in the sea.
“We didn’t expect this. Not in this place,” John tells our colleagues. He then tries a maneuver to escape and keep the animals away, which works, but breaks the boat’s hull in the process. “We lost control. Plus, we feared the boat had sprung a leak.” […] We called for help and they came to pick us up four hours later to take us back to shore. When we arrived there were about 500 people watching. I don’t know how they found out,” he said.
“They could have sunk our boat,” said John Ostermeyer. “We were literally afraid for our lives.”
While waiting for their boat to be repaired, John and Chris are staying near Brest: “Overall the damage isn’t too great Important I“We might have to wait here for another week or two.”