Dragon2115
Guest
My wife and I went on a seal dive through our LDS PG Dive and Capt. Rob's out of Rye, NH. The weather couldn't have been better. Cool as we were getting ready to leave but warmed up nicely as the morning went on. It was only about a 30 minute ride out to Duck Island from Rye Harbor so no long boat ride, which one person in our party was very thankful for.
We did two dives, both shallow so we stayed warm. The first dive was the scheduled seal dive and it was incredible. I had one of them come up and grab my fin with its flippers and start scratching it. When I raised my arm it moved forward and gently scratched my arm and then muzzled my hand with its nose. When it was done it went over to one of the others and got right up close to check out his mask. After that it laid down in the kelp in between six of us and just looked at us for awhile. It didn't mind that we were all around it and anywhere from two to four feet away. Very cool.
Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to head back to the boat. The seal decided that it still wanted to play and started following one of the divers. He was oblivious to it though. The seal was so interested in the guys fins that it got smacked in the nose three times and it didn't even phase it one bit. It just kept on trying to grab the fins. Once we were all back on the boat one of the seals, probably the one that had been playing with us, poked it's head and a good portion of its body out of the water right next to the swim platform to take a look at where we had all gone. Kind of saying, 'hey, where'd you go, I'm not done playing yet'.
For the second dive we decided to stay at Duck Island and do another seal dive, but we moved the boat into a different cove. This one wasn't as productive. Although I think I ran into the same seal again. It swam over and laid down in the kelp again and just watched me for a few minutes. After that I'd see one in the distance every so often but none approached. When we all got back to the boat it seamed like everybody had about the same luck. I think it might have been because we were closer to the pups this time. But that was ok as we were a little short on time and we needed to get heading back to port soon. The dive times were 65 and 45 minutes so it wasn't like they we got shorted or anything.
If you're considering doing this dive, go for it. There's no guaranty you will interact with them, or even see one underwater for that matter. That's just the way it is. Any interaction happens at the seals' choosing, not yours. However, if you're patient and you follow Captain Rob's advice you'll have an excellent chance.
For my wife and I this one goes down as a definite, 'must do again' dive.
We did two dives, both shallow so we stayed warm. The first dive was the scheduled seal dive and it was incredible. I had one of them come up and grab my fin with its flippers and start scratching it. When I raised my arm it moved forward and gently scratched my arm and then muzzled my hand with its nose. When it was done it went over to one of the others and got right up close to check out his mask. After that it laid down in the kelp in between six of us and just looked at us for awhile. It didn't mind that we were all around it and anywhere from two to four feet away. Very cool.
Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to head back to the boat. The seal decided that it still wanted to play and started following one of the divers. He was oblivious to it though. The seal was so interested in the guys fins that it got smacked in the nose three times and it didn't even phase it one bit. It just kept on trying to grab the fins. Once we were all back on the boat one of the seals, probably the one that had been playing with us, poked it's head and a good portion of its body out of the water right next to the swim platform to take a look at where we had all gone. Kind of saying, 'hey, where'd you go, I'm not done playing yet'.
For the second dive we decided to stay at Duck Island and do another seal dive, but we moved the boat into a different cove. This one wasn't as productive. Although I think I ran into the same seal again. It swam over and laid down in the kelp again and just watched me for a few minutes. After that I'd see one in the distance every so often but none approached. When we all got back to the boat it seamed like everybody had about the same luck. I think it might have been because we were closer to the pups this time. But that was ok as we were a little short on time and we needed to get heading back to port soon. The dive times were 65 and 45 minutes so it wasn't like they we got shorted or anything.
If you're considering doing this dive, go for it. There's no guaranty you will interact with them, or even see one underwater for that matter. That's just the way it is. Any interaction happens at the seals' choosing, not yours. However, if you're patient and you follow Captain Rob's advice you'll have an excellent chance.
For my wife and I this one goes down as a definite, 'must do again' dive.
