Maddenation
A Loose Seal in the Water
The other week Billy and I were surfing in Venice and I saw a dog swimming out in the water farther out past the break than we were. Billy pointed it out, I was like, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?? A DOG??? And he was like, NO! IT’S A SEAL!! I was like, A SEAL?? AAHHHH!!
And then it disappeared under the water for a few seconds, then popped up even closer to us, no more than 30 feet, which, in the water, is INSANELY close. I didn’t have my iphone on me at that point, so I couldn’t google “will seals bite my feet off?” so I got nervous and was half laughing and half terrified. As Billy put it later on in the day, it’s not like the thing is in a zoo with a big thick window to watch behind, this thing was RIGHT THERE!! So Billy began barking like a seal (Arf! ARF! ARF!) and flapping his arms like he was doing the chicken dance while the thing was staring right at him. At that point I called him a mental case and swam to shore. I did NOT want my toes ripped off by that dog-looking sea animal.
It went away for a few minutes so I went back out to surf. Then it came right back, popping its head out right next to our surfboards, as if to say “Hey guys. What are you doing? Surfing? Cool. I’m just swimming.” Then I said out loud, “Um, see ya later, seal!” and went back to shore.
The surf was crummy where we were so we hopped in the car and drove 1.5 miles north to Santa Monica where the waves were better. We were in the water for about 45 minutes and as we were getting out Billy yells, “Dan! LOOOOOK!!” That damn seal was right next to us AGAIN!!
When I got home I read about seals. They don’t tend to attack, so it’s pretty safe with them, but they have bitten a few legs. And let me tell you, when you’re on your board and your feet are dangling off the sides and you can’t see what’s going on under that water, things get a little nerve-wracking.
I’ve also been surfing and standup paddling with dolphins goofing around right next to me, seriously 20 feet away. Almost close enough to touch them!
Dan • Stories • 10/27/09 • 1 comments
Comments
Patrick • 11/06/09 • 5:52 PM:I want to know if you think it was the same seal, and how could you know? Did it look the same? Do all seals look the same? It’s a cool story.
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
Please capitalize your name properly and use the same information each time you comment. We will not send you spam, and your email address will not be posted.