You guys make it sound as if Orange II is ripping along in stealth mode at 30+ kts. I would venture a guess that a boat of this size going that speed would be making a tremendous racket!

Yes, the hulls are smooth, but all of the noise from the rig, winches, lines, generator, wave action, wake noise, etc. are carried through the bulkheads to the water.

I would presume that most marine mammals aren't having trouble detecting this noisemaker, but rather may be misjudging its course and speed.

A whale popping up after a 150 meter dive for air might just misjudge that their path was clear...

I did have a question regarding that damage. Is there any provision on this boat to pull the daggarboard out and either repair it on deck, or switch it with the starboard daggaboard when they predict they will be on starboard tack for a prolonged period?

I see they already effected a repair on the daggarboard, but I figured they could have switched daggarboards prior to this repair to further ensure they wouldn't snap it off while they waited for calm conditions.