Latest news with #sailors
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Moment exhausted migrant is plucked from the sea after trying to cross treacherous 36-mile wide Strait of Gibraltar in flippers and a rubber ring
This is the moment an exhausted migrant is rescued by sailors after trying to cross the perilous Strait of Gibraltar with flippers and a rubber ring. The man, believed to be from Morocco, was spotted by the crew of a passing sailboat around 12 miles off the coast of Malaga, Spain on Saturday. Footage shows a sailor shouting: 'We have spotted a castaway and we are getting ready to pick him up', as the man begins to come into view. The migrant, who is strapped to a rubber ring, is seen swimming towards the vessel, as crew members throw him a rope to hold onto. He grabs onto the cord and is pulled by sailors onto the boat and flops onto his back motionless with a pained expression on his face. One passenger says: 'Water, water', as he pats the migrant on the back as he tells him, 'don't worry'. After plucking the man from the sea, the sailors brought him a change of clothes, a blanket, water and some food. His rescuers, a family from southern Spain who were on their way to the Balearic Islands, initially confused the migrant for a bird or large fish before seeing it was a man in distress. The family contacted coastguard, who mobilised a vessel to collect the migrant from the sailboat before transferring him to the port of Malaga. His whereabouts and condition were not immediately clear this morning, but he was reportedly severely dehydrated when he was first rescued. It is not exactly known where he started his treacherous journey, but he was found around 13 miles to the south of the Spanish resort of Benalmadena between Torremolinos and Funegirola on the Costa del Sol when he was first spotted. The Strait of Gibraltar separates North Africa from Europe and it is a common route used by scores of illegal immigrants to reach Spain. In 2024, Spain received a record number of migrants who crossed illegally via sea, with more than 61,000 people having arrived on boat. In a recently-published report, an organisation called Caminando Fronteras said it had recorded the deaths of nearly 2,000 migrants trying to reach Spain by sea from Africa in the first five months of this year. Fifty-two of those had been making the Strait of Gibraltar crossing, the group said as it revealed the deadliest route was the one from Western Africa to the Canary Islands. Of the 1,865 people recorded as dead or missing, it said 112 were women and 342 children. Caminando Fronteras also revealed 38 boats had disappeared with all people on board between the start of January and end of May 2025. The astonishing rescue comes after a Moroccan man was rescued eight miles from land by a passenger ferry as he tried to make the treacherous crossing in the inner tube of a lorry tyre. Jose Maraver, second in command at the coastguard coordination centre in the southern Spanish town of Tarifa, said at the time: 'He was midday between Spain and Morocco when he was picked up, around eight miles south-east of Tarifa. 'He would have drifted further towards the Mediterranean if he hadn't been spotted and would never have made it to dry land without help. 'He was lucky the passenger ferry that spotted him didn't go over him. He would have been very low in the water and difficult to see. 'The area he was in is a very busy shipping channel and very dangerous for someone like this man in the precarious situation he was in.' The migrant's rescue on Saturday also comes shortly after Spain faced violent clashes between far-right groups and police over immigration. Clashes in Torre-Pacheco in the Murcia region in southeastern Spain took place earlier this month after an elderly resident was beaten up by unknown assailants, which led to a call by far-right groups to seek retribution on the area's large migrant community. A major police presence was moved into Torre-Pacheco, which has a population of roughly 42,000. About a third of its residents are of foreign origin, according to local government figures. Large numbers of migrants also work in the surrounding area as day laborers in agriculture, a major driver of the regional economy.
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
British sailors warned after rare orca attack in Bay of Biscay
Sailors encountering killer whales in British waters have been warned to switch off their engines and lower their sails or risk being rammed after orcas attacked a yacht in Spain. Two sailors were saved by the Spanish coastguard after their vessel, Azurea, was attacked by the whales off the coast of the Basque country on Monday afternoon. The French yacht was rammed at about 2pm local time, two nautical miles from the Basque coast and the town of Deba. The coastguard rescued the pair, one of whom was aged 60, after they sent out a mayday distress call. Both were taken 'safe and sound' to the port of Getaria. Rescuers said such incidents were 'uncommon' so high up in the Atlantic. While such attacks are rare in the Basque Country, they are a well-known phenomenon further south in Galicia and in the 'orca alley' of the Strait of Gibraltar, where boats have been sunk. The orcas approach from the stern and hit the rudder before losing interest once they have stopped the boat in a phenomenon that scientists have struggled to fully explain. It is thought the orcas responsible for the incidents number 15 out of a pod of 50 whales. This latest incident comes the same month that wildlife experts confirmed the first ever sighting of Iberian orcas in Cornish waters. In 2023, a killer whale barged into a fishing boat near Shetland in Scotland in what was the first and so far only orca attack in British waters since the phenomenon began. 'For some unknown reason, the killer whales have developed a penchant for breaking the rudders of sailboats and once they have achieved this, they leave the boat alone,' Prof Volker Deeke, professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Cumbria, said. He told The Telegraph the incidents should not be viewed as attacks. 'During interactions, the animals remain cool, calm and collected without any of the behavioural signs of aggression such as splashing, or vocalisations,' he said. But he said it 'can not be ruled out' that similar incidents to those seen around the Iberian Peninsula could occur in British waters in the future. He added: 'UK sailors transiting the hotspots should definitely familiarise themselves with the guidance. The same guidance applies for sailors encountering any killer whales in Cornish waters.' The guidance given to sailors in the Strait of Gibraltar includes to stop the boat engine and lower the sails immediately if orcas are spotted, turn off autopilot and echo sounders and not to make loud noises in an effort to scare them away. Other advice includes avoiding hot spots in the first place and, most crucially, to stay in shallow waters of about 20 meters in depth, where orcas do not like to swim. Dr Javier Almunia, director of the Loro Parque Foundation, told The Telegraph: 'The behaviour has reduced, at least in the Gibraltar Strait, by around 90 per cent following the recommendations of the Spanish authorities.' Spain recommends that boats do not stop but instead go full speed towards shallower waters, which makes it harder for the orcas to headbutt the rudders. Dr Almunia said that if the interaction in the Basque Country was confirmed 'it can be explained by the same animals moving around the Iberian Peninsula'. 'So far there's no evidence of different pods to the ones that are visiting Gibraltar in summer are learning this behaviour,' he said in comments that will reassure British sailors. 'There's no evidence of the behaviour moving on or being transferred to a different pod.' Marine biologists believe that the whales may be attacking out of boredom. Other theories are that the whales are exhibiting territorial, defensive, or playful behaviour. It has also been suggested that a female orca called White Gladis taught gangs of the apex predators to attack the boats after being traumatised by a collision with a boat, or being trapped in illegal fishing nets. The first reports of aggressive orcas off the Iberian coast began in May 2020. In September of that year, Spanish authorities banned boats from setting sail from the country's north-western tip after 29 orca attacks were registered. At least six vessels have been sunk since 2021, including two last year. Two crew members were rescued unharmed in May 2024 when the 15‑metre sailing yacht Alboran Cognac sank in the Strait of Gibraltar after repeated ramming by Iberian orcas. In July, the British yacht Bonhomme William sank in the Strait of Gibraltar after it was attacked at night. All three on board were rescued. Two attacks in quick succession in August 2023 were the first ramming incidents involving orcas reported in waters off the Basque Country. A pod of about five orcas struck the rudder and hull of a sailboat about 20 miles north of Zumaia without causing major damage, followed by an incident involving a French trimaran travelling about 18 miles north of Ondarroa. Both boats needed only minor repairs.
CBS News
18-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Watch Live: 116th Race to Mackinac Island sets sail for 2025
The 116th Race to Mackinac sets sail on Friday afternoon. Nearly 300 boats will race more than 330 miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island in Michigan. The 2,500 sailors are coming to compete from 49 states and 14 countries. The race is hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, which is also celebrating its 150th anniversary. CBS News Chicago is streaming the start of the race live on Pluto TV, the CBS News app, and on Paramount+ starting at 2:30 p.m. The Cruising Division starts at 3 p.m.
CBS News
18-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
How to watch the 116th Race to Mackinac on CBS News Chicago
The 116th Race to Mackinac sets sail on Friday afternoon. Nearly 300 boats will race more than 330 miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island in Michigan. The 2,500 sailors are coming to compete from 49 states and 14 countries. The race is hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, which is also celebrating its 150th anniversary. CBS News Chicago will be streaming the start of the race live on Pluto TV, the CBS News app, and on Paramount+ starting at 2:30 p.m. The Cruising Division starts at 3 p.m.
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tall Ship Races vessels arrive in Aberdeen
Vessels taking part in the Tall Ships Races 2025 have begun arriving in Aberdeen ahead of a four-day festival. The race began in Le Havre in France in early July and the ships sailed round the coast to Dunkirk before travelling on to Aberdeen. They will stay in Scotland until July 22 and the competing ships will then race to Kristiansand in Norway and finally to Esbjerg in Denmark, arriving there in early August. The festival in Aberdeen is expected to attract around 400,000 visits between Saturday and Tuesday. Around 50 ships from around the globe will be berthed at the quaysides, which will host a range of attractions from food and craft stalls to street performers and concerts, while visitors will also be able to board some of the vessels. Events will also take place elsewhere in the city, including an international crew parade on Sunday with more than 1,500 sailors expected to take part, exhibitions, free activities and art installations. On Tuesday, the ships will depart with a 'parade of sail' along the quayside and beach esplanade. It emerged on Wednesday that tall ship TS Shtandart has been denied entry to the Port of Aberdeen due to current national and international legislation. The captain of the ship was born in Russia and sanctions introduced following the invasion of Ukraine mean the vessel cannot enter a UK port. Shtandart had originally entered to take part in race four between Kristiansand and Esbjerg. The TS Shtandart has released an open letter to the port authorities stating: 'The sail training ship TS Shtandart has been denied entry to the Port of Aberdeen. 'As a result, she and her crew have been excluded from the list of participants in the 2025 Tall Ships Races. 'Let us be absolutely clear: TS Shtandart is not a Russian ship. 'She does not fly the Russian flag. She is registered under the flag of the Cook Islands. She is owned by a Finnish citizen, operated by a German company and crewed by an international team. 'She has not visited Russia for more than 15 years and is neither owned, operated, nor funded – directly or indirectly – by any Russian entity or by the Russian Federation. 'Therefore, she does not fall under any categories listed in Article 57A of the UK Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations. 'The only remaining link to Russia is the captain's place of birth. He left the country over a decade ago and has since been a long-term resident and taxpayer in Germany. He has not returned to Russia in many years and has dedicated his life to education and youth development at sea. 'TS Shtandart carries no political message. She is not a threat nor a tool for propaganda. 'She is a floating school, an ambassador of peace, a bridge between generations and nations.' Sail Training International said Aberdeen was not a confirmed stop for the ship and Shtandart's captain, Vladimir Martus, was fully aware of the situation. It said: 'Sail Training International confirms that it received communications from the ports of Aberdeen, Kristiansand and Esbjerg informing us that Shtandart was denied entry into their ports, due to current national and international legislation. 'As a result of this, Sail Training International regrettably cancelled her participation in The Tall Ships Races 2025.'
