After 7 straight days of paddling I decided to take advantage of the glassy conditions and have a casual flat water paddle with the better half. We stopped by the local seal hangout to see what was up with them and had the usual interaction with one of them. We were heading off when 2 other seals joined in and were getting a kick out of pulling on my leggy. I took the slack out of my leggy and stood on it but it was still game on for them. Thankfully the novelty wore off and they swam with us for a while before heading off.
I saw elbeau on the beach wishing he had never moved to the right coast
Mate thats unreal seen plenty of wildlife while paddling be never seals.they must be pretty tame to come up to you like that.. great shots!
This morning I had an early surf at prk, as I was entering the water I noticed a seal in the surf area...at the same time he noticed me, imediatley showing a very agressive attitude buy standing high out of the water with neck arched. He caught the first wave that was comming toward me, thrashing barking & snaping his jaws
Totaly intimidated I swung around & caught the wave to try & get away. The seal had dissapeared, so I paddled out, but back he came, rushing at me, bearing his teeth, he did this time & time again, I realised that he had plenty of opertunity to sink the teeth in....but didn't, so I continued to surf, but under duress from this Australian Fur seal that has probably just clamed my favorite sand bank as his teritory! After 1/2 hour another standup came out, I thought, good.....the seal can go give this guy some grief & leave me alone....& he did straight away!
The seal was going to take no intimidation from us, after a while I thought....well I will see if I can scare him, I paddled near him & wacked the paddle hard on the water making a very loud bang...........the bugger just rolled on his back...scratched his belly & looked at me!
I while later the other guy on the standup was paddling for a wave & the seal poped up beside him with his mouth wide open, unavoidably the seal was smacked with the paddle.......I thought this has to give him a fright....but no it didn't bother him either, the seal followed the guy onto the wave.
Two more surfers joined us after an hour or so, one a mate on a short board who has a particular dislike for SUP........but today was the first time I have heard him say, Id rather be on a SUP!
After about 2 hours the seals mood had mellowed, we were tolerated in his area, he was relaxed, just rolling around near us....but every now & then he would vanish.......then rear up out of the water at the tail of your board.....showing you his nice sharp teeth....... he was having fun scaring the crap out of us now
Gotta love the hounds of the sea they have a ball
Had heaps of interaction with them they certainly make your day
Totaly intimidated I swung around & caught the wave to try & get away. The seal had dissapeared, so I paddled out, but back he came, rushing at me, bearing his teeth, he did this time & time again, I realised that he had plenty of opertunity to sink the teeth in....but didn't, so I continued to surf, but under duress from this Australian Fur seal that has probably just clamed my favorite sand bank as his teritory! After 1/2 hour another standup came out, I thought, good.....the seal can go give this guy some grief & leave me alone....& he did straight away!
.. They do like to show their big teeth don't they.
I wondered where you had got to Cranky. I waited for a while on the beach to see if the conditions would remain pristine. It wasn't long before that familiar sight came across the bay. White caps pushed by the south wester.Such a shame. It is a great spot for SUP when the wind eases. I suppose you need to embrace kites and other forms of wave riding to stay sane here.
