Seal Dive

I went diving Saturday morning with my new video camera case and old Nikon L18. I didn’t expect much due to the ocean roughness other than some more rather grainy movies, but it’s still a kick to actually record stuff now. To my surprise a huge seal played tag with me out in the kelp bed far off shore. When he whipped around me the first time to check me out, it was incredible. I’ve been diving off Otter’s Point and Point Lobos for decades and this guy was the biggest I’ve seen. I only recorded one stint with him swimming away with me following because he would come out of nowhere, not giving me a chance to even point the camera for a close-up. I’ve also recorded a segment of what it looks like from way out there in the kelp bed. A dive where I have to kick out to the calmer and deeper kelp bed’s outer region is usually a couple hours in the water, including climbing back over the kelp bed toward shore after most of the tank air is depleted. It’s a tedious endeavor and one that must be done slowly. By the time I reach shore I have to stand still for at least five minutes before taking off my fins because it still feels like I’m floating in my head and lasts for hours to a lesser degree. At least I remembered to bring my own regulator this trip.  :)