Diving with sea lions.

[Eric Sedletzky]

I came across this and thought it looks like a lot of fun.
Unique scuba experience immerses divers with hundreds of migrating sea lions
If you’ve never dived with sea lions I can tell you it’s some of the best fun you can have diving. Just be careful, they are wild animals, give them some space and let them come to you. Plan a trip to see and play with sea lions! It’s a very special experience.

 

[Dark Wolf]

As a general rule, I have zero interest in coral reefs and associated marine life. But that does look like a fun and interesting dive!

DW

 

[lexvil]

Always expect a whole herd of them to come to play in Monterey.

 

[TMHeimer]

Not my cup of tea, they are wild animals, and big. But we've been down that road before(the usual shark threads)....

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Not my cup of tea, they are wild animals, and big. But we've been down that road before(the usual shark threads)....

Yeah, but they’re like big goofy puppies, and they’re cute, especially their antics. Who doesn’t like puppies?

 

[Esprise Me]

I love sea lions. I saw this thread and got really excited. Then I saw "in Canada" and got really unexcited. Then I saw "48 degrees" and now I'm not sure how to feel. That's colder water than I've experienced, but not as cold as I would've thought. Hmmm...

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Sea Lions are the ultimate in goofy cool!

30 years ago, when my wife-to-be got certified, the first post-certification dive I took her on was to a small cove on the back-side of Catalina. There was a sea lion rookery there and several had just pupped. We descended to a clearing in the kelp forest at 30' and waited. Pretty soon about 5 baby sea lions started nuzzling my wife. She scratched one under the chin and all the other pups lined up for the same treatment, taking turns. My wife was in 7th heaven. There was just an overwhelming amount of cuteness all around. I backed off and hovered at the edge of the clearing, arms folded in front of me taking it all in. Just then I looked beside me and here were several huge momma sea lions hanging out next to me watching as well. They didn't seem to mind. Spent the whole dive doing that. My wife still talks about that dive. Here's me on that same trip.

 

[drrich2]

Not my cup of tea, they are wild animals, and big. But we've been down that road before(the usual shark threads)....

Well, this may sound odd coming from a guy who's gone observing on shark feed dives, but I saw something in that article that merits a mention for the reasons you cite.

I've dove with California sea lions just a little, Galapagos sea lions (I'm told basically the same species) a little, and had the joy of a harbor seal messing with my fin a couple of times one dive, and I like those.

But that article also mentions Steller sea lions. I've watched video/seen photos of divers with Steller sea lions before; those things get really big! And I recall an image of one that looked about the size of a bear putting its mouth (with big teeth) on somebody's (thankfully hooded) head. I take it it's not always a matter of playful pups and standoffish big ones; the big ones may decide to get in your space (and who's going to stop them?). Nobody got hurt, but wild carnivores the size of bears putting their big teeth on a diver when he's basically helpless...I might pass on that!

Richard.

 

[lexvil]

Sea lions are always a treat and rarely any sort of threat, the time to wonder is when they don’t come in to check you out, there are other things out there that also consider sea lions a treat.

 

[Primary]

About 10-15 years ago Hornby Island was known for large congregations of sevengill sharks at certain times of year and the community developed a strong dive tourism business around the sharks.

Last time I checked, a couple of years ago, the sharks were no longer being seen in sufficient numbers to justify the tourism.

It's interesting to hear that the island dive shops have developed a new basis for scuba tourism. Good luck to them!

Anyone who likes diving cold water (or at least doesn't mind it) owes it to themselves to visit Vancouver Island. Whether or not you see sevengills or sealions, the thriving ecology of the island's waters and the ripping drift dives make it a great destination. If you enjoy the outdoors, there's lots to see and do topside as well.