3 + 1 at Alki Reef

BDub · Post by **BDub** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:00 am

Jeanna, Bob, and I headed out to Alki Reef Friday evening.

We planned to scooter out the to reef, then clip off and kick some and also play on the scoots too. The reef is perfect for both....lot's to see and take pictures of, so clipping off and kicking around is a great time. But the rock piles are perfect for scootering around too. They are far enough apart that you can just see the next one from the one you're on. The piles give you a reference point to scooter around on, without worrying too much about separation.

We geared up and triggered out, arriving at the reef after 15 minutes. We played on the scoots and clipped off occasionally as well. After a few minutes we had an addition to our group....a playful young male sea lion! He was pretty fascinated with the scoots and Jeanna's camera. Or maybe he just wanted to show the camera that our scooter skills were nothing compared to him.

He played with us for the next 10 - 15 minutes before I signaled to turn. He accompanied for almost our entire return trip, swimming over us, around us, behind us, nipping at our fins and buzzing us.

He had the cutest eyes! It was an absolutely amazing experience!

Videos up, here http://youtube.com/watch?v=INJSavdJUzA

Brian

Pez7378 · Post by **Pez7378** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:09 am

WOW! Those videos are fantastic.The sea lion was fun to watch too. That must have been a lot of fun to swim with that guy! It sure was cool seeing the video.

Penopolypants · Post by **Penopolypants** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:10 am

Holy cow, the part where he's laying on the bottom looking up at you all with those puppy dog eyes....priceless!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:22 pm

That video rocks! What a great story!

mattwave · Post by **mattwave** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:42 pm

scooters are fun
nice vid :hello2:

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:55 am

Penopolypants wrote:Holy cow, the part where he's laying on the bottom looking up at you all with those puppy dog eyes....priceless!

Those puppy dog eyes were the size of teacups ... when he first dropped down there, laying down like that, he looked so much like a dog expecting his ears scratched that I just instinctively dropped down to within a couple feet of his face. Then ... looking into those big "puppy-dog" eyes, I wondered how much different sea lion behavior might be from doggie behavior ... and decided to keep our relationship strictly platonic.

For me the coolest part was the scoot back, when he followed us. We were scootering along in formation when BDub looked back and then signaled me to look behind me. There he was ... following along in perfect formation about a foot behind my fins. As soon as we stopped he dropped down in the sand again ... as though pleading with us not to go.

Really made me wonder what goes thru the mind of a critter like that when it gets around humans ... I mean, really, we're just visitors in their world. Do they really understand what we are?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

H20doctor · Post by **H20doctor** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 7:31 pm

I watched this video today on a DSL connection... All I see is Spoiled rotten divers with Fast scooters Having Fun!!!! I feel as a diver that you spoiled rotten scooter people should Buy us all X-Scooters so that we can enjoy this type of diving in the puget sound... ! Ha HA HA ... with that said.. AWSOME incounter with a very Nice friendly Seal, who seemed to be very friendly and curious..
I am bummed watching you guys zipping around soooooo fast.. Your computers must really Beep off all the time because of your assention rates.

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:30 am

H20doctor wrote:I watched this video today on a DSL connection... All I see is Spoiled rotten divers with Fast scooters Having Fun!!!! I feel as a diver that you spoiled rotten scooter people should Buy us all X-Scooters so that we can enjoy this type of diving in the puget sound... ! Ha HA HA ... with that said.. AWSOME incounter with a very Nice friendly Seal, who seemed to be very friendly and curious..
I am bummed watching you guys zipping around soooooo fast.. Your computers must really Beep off all the time because of your assention rates.

That fellow was much bigger than a seal ... sea lions are a bit more intimidating up close. And although this one behaved very much like an eager puppy, it was probably close to a 700 lb. puppy ... and we really have no idea how their behavior translates in their thought processes. We're so used to doggie behavior it's easy to transfer how we interact with dogs to other animals who behave similarly. But what we interpret as "I wanna play" in dogs might translate into sea lion as "I am challenging you for your women". I dunno ... but with an animal that big, it's definitely cause to pause when it comes to getting too close.

As for the scooters ... they're awesome fun. But you still have to follow the same laws of physiology as you do when kick diving ... which means controlling your ascent rates. With a scooter it's easy to ascend too fast if you're not careful ... so it's important to be more aware of what you're doing and where you're going. It's just part of the learning curve you go through when you start scootering.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

dwashbur · Post by **dwashbur** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:11 am

Definitely a sea lion, you can tell because he has ears.

And it appears that he could stay down almost as long as you could, and he didn't even need a big honkin' tank on his back. Wouldn't that be nice ?!?!?!?!?!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:28 am

Grateful Diver wrote:But what we interpret as "I wanna play" in dogs might translate into sea lion as "I am challenging you for your women".

Are you calling BDub a woman?!

Penopolypants · Post by **Penopolypants** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 9:01 am

Jake: [fakes accent] How much for the little girl? How much for the women?
Father: What?
Jake: Your women! I want to buy your women!

From the Blues Brothers.

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:09 am

Sounder wrote:
Grateful Diver wrote:But what we interpret as "I wanna play" in dogs might translate into sea lion as "I am challenging you for your women".
Are you calling BDub a woman?!

Ah ... no ... that would be the redhead with the camera ... $\:D/$

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

H20doctor · Post by **H20doctor** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:23 pm

well to go zipping around like that is pretty Dang killer Cool... You could dive in a current sensitive area and not have to worry about it. Just put the X on speed Number 5 and zoom away

BDub · Post by **BDub** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:41 pm

H20doctor wrote:well to go zipping around like that is pretty Dang killer Cool... You could dive in a current sensitive area and not have to worry about it. Just put the X on speed Number 5 and zoom away

Not sure Doug Steding or CaptnJack would agree with that

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:48 pm

Well, it works within limits. Did a dive at Skyline Wall once where we decided to just drift the wall and scoot back against the current. When it came time to head back we pointed the scoot into the current, hit the trigger ... and didn't make any headway at all against the current ...

... rut roh ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:09 pm

That was excellent. Thanks for sharing.

TheTurtle · Post by **TheTurtle** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:43 pm

Wow, how cool! Thanks for sharing, Brian.

Northwest Dive Club

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