Clumsy Whales!
p. 24 · Read in the full issue
Another Of Those Clumsy Whales!
The trans-Pacifc liner “Mari posa” was forced to drydock in Sydney at the end of March after colliding with a whale off Bora Bora, French Polynesia.
The collision damaged the liner’s rudder and a special part had to be flown in for the repair.
It was the third such incident in the South Pacific within 18 months. The first occurred in September, 1964, when a whale badly holed the hull of the American yacht “Easterling” en route to the Marquesas from the Galapagos Islands. A few months later the New Zealand trimaran “Highlight” had two of its hulls holed when making for Rapa, from New Zealand.
Whales have also menaced yachtsmen in the Indian Ocean in recent months (PIM, Jan., p. 111).
Considering how much water there is in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, we’re beginning to think there’s something sinister in the frequent collisions.