Whenever we dive Duck Island at the Isle of Shoals, the seal interactions are always a surprise. Some days they keep a respectful distance and vanish the moment you turn around, while other days you get treated to an up-close show.
Our September 12 dive definitely fell into the second category.
We were on the final charter of the season with Portsmouth Scuba, sitting in barely 15 feet of water. Between the shallow depth and surprisingly balmy 62°F water, the ambient light was brilliant, which made it very easy to see the young gray seal that decided we were the day’s main entertainment.
Seals can sometimes just be water-puppies with zero concept of personal space. This one spent the dive orbiting us, checking out our gear, and repeatedly sneaking up from behind to use our fins as a chew toy. Every time we leveled out along the rocky kelp, you’d feel a gentle tug and turn around to find big dark eyes staring right back at you, casually testing the rubber compound for nutritional value.
The rocky structure and kelp around Duck Island are always worth the boat ride, but having a seal spend an entire shallow dive playing games makes it hard to beat.
I had the GoPro Hero 13 rolling in the natural light. Huge thanks to the crew at Portsmouth Scuba for wrapping up the summer dive season on such a high note.
