For Gage Butler and five other crew members aboard a sailboat off the coast of Spain, a dream wildlife encounter quickly turned terrifying. Butler says when a pod of orcas first surrounded the boat, he was thrilled, because these animals are his favorite. After a 5-8-minute battering, however, Butler started to worry.

The orcas were repeatedly ramming into the sailboat, and they even broke the boat’s rudder in half. The people on board had to hang on to avoid falling overboard as the orcas had their fun. Thankfully, Butler told news outlets that he was able to get the boat into the marina safely, and no one was injured.

[RELATED: Orcas Show up in Triathlon’s Swim Course After Athletes Exit]

Watch orcas ramming into a sailboat below (or see it here).

Header stock image by Rebecca Yale/Getty Images

The post Orcas Ram Sailboat, Breaking Rudder in Half (Video) appeared first on Outdoors with Bear Grylls.