A lone sailor has told of the terrifying moment his yacht was attacked by killer whales which ripped off his rudder and left him fearing for his life.<br /><br />Phep Philouceros, was forced to broadcast a Mayday distress alert - only used by sailors if they are in a life-threatening situation - during the attack.<br /><br />A five-strong pod of orcas followed his 30-foot yacht as it sailed just off the coast of Cape Vincent in Portugal bound for Royan, France, on Monday.<br /><br />In a terrifying attack, part of which Phep caught on video, two of the huge creatures peeled off and started attacking his boat.<br /><br />One can been seen 'stalking' the yacht and attacking the rudder, which was destroyed "in one minute", forcing Phep to send out the Mayday.<br /><br />The 70-year-old said he also heard the hull of the boat crack but didn't noticed any water coming in.<br /><br />Frenchman Phep was sailing 400 metres south of Cape St. Vincent in around 25 metres of water.<br /><br />Sailors have been advised to stick in shallow water of 20 metres or less in depth to avoid attack by orca.<br /><br />Within 15 minutes of the incident a rescue boat had reached his location but even then the attack didn't stop.<br /><br />For 30 minutes the orcas continued to attack even as Phep's twin-keel boat called Oxygene was being towed back to the shore.<br /><br />Phep, who is retired, is an experienced navigator and has been at sea for the last few months after leaving Gruissan in France three months ago.<br /><br />Phep knew there had been reported orca sightings in the area so before he set sail from Sagres he checked an app which lists recent orca encounters.<br /><br />He said: "I use an app called Orca Atlantica which lists orca encounters in the area and I also listen to what local authorities are advising.<br /><br />"After leaving Lagos and before reaching Cape St. Vincent, I stopped in Sagres to check the latest news on the app.<br /><br />"There hadn't been any sightings of orcas that day so I went ahead but unfortunately I wasn't lucky."<br /><br />By the time Phep spotted in orcas near his sailboat, it was already too late.<br /><br />Many sailors use acoustic underwater 'pingers' or set of firecrackers to scare off the animals.<br /><br />He said: "People don't realise how quickly these things happen. <br /><br />"I didn't have time to use a pinger to make noise or fireworks."<br /><br />Phep said he tried to stop his engine or reverse in an attempt stop the attack, but neither worked.<br /><br />He said: "The rudder was destroyed in one minute and pulled out. They also rammed blows on the twin keels of the boat<br /><br />"In total there were five orcas but only two attacked the boat.<br /><br />"I think there were young orcas. They were about six or seven meters long. They were neither adults or babies."<br /><br />"The attack wasn't too violent. The boat moved, it rotated but didn't capsize.<br /><br />"If the orcas really wanted to sink the boat, they could have done it easily. I don't think it was their intention."<br /><br />Phep immediately sent out a mayday and a rescue quickly responded to his call.<br /><br />He said: "I set off my emergency beacon so that other boats could come to my rescue
