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As most of you know already, Lisa and I are adventurous and well... a little bit nuts if we get right down to it.

So in keeping with that theme, we went out on a dive charter to Duck Island in the Isles of Shoals off of Portsmouth this past Saturday with our son Brian. This a great spot even if you don't dive because there's a resident colony of seals there that can easily be observed from the boat. Underwater though it's incredible. We did this dive two years ago and it was great. We had one seal come over and look at us and lie down in the seaweed in the middle of the dive team. This time it was off the hook and over the top.

For anyone wondering, yes, seals are protected by the National Marine Mammals Protection Act. What this means is that you are not allowed to chase, harrass, or interfere with the seals in any way. This makes the rules very easy, the seals make the rules.

The way it works is you go in the water, swim around in the general area they're in, and wait to see what happens. Seals are curious about strange things in their environment so if you don't do anything to spook them then there's a pretty good chance they will at least swim by to check you out. That in itself is quite a rush.

This dive went way beyond that. Here are some pictures. Enjoy.

Look behind the diver. They like to sneak in from a blind spot.


Then they slide in to take a look.

This one is fascinated by Lisa's tank.


And then when they're comfortable with you, all hell breaks loose.







When they play they like to nip, grab, and tug on fins. Just like you're another seal. You do need to be careful with them though. It's like playing with a big dopey Labrador Retriever that's still got its' puppy teeth. It's not trying to hurt you but can by accident if not careful simply because its teeth are like razors. One important thing is, NEVER reachout and try to pet them. That's a real good way to get bit and the damage the teeth cause will only be 20% of the injury. As with most marine creatures it's the secondary infection that's the worst of it.

But even with all that would I do it again? In a heartbeat!!!

It's such a thrill to interact with these intelligent creatures in the wild and on their terms.

Wow great Thread! thanks. Jim how long have you been diving for?

Thanks Marc. Three years now. Not very long in the grand scheme of things, but with a good variety of experiences so far. I really enjoy the photography part of it. It'll be nice to have all the photos when I finally reach that point in life where I can no longer dive. But before then I would love to visit places like Raja Ampet in the coral sea or the GBR, or Cocos, or the Galapogos Islands. That's why our little slice of the tropics in our aquarium is so important, it holds us over between adventures.

wow, amazing photos, I've been diving for years now so I understand what you mean by amazing thrill, I love the rush and the pure fun of being underwater. Never swam with seals though, I would love to try!

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"All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal or fattening." - Alexander Woollcott

This would be way cool. I had a frined that went swimming with the dolphins a few years ago. I would love to do something like that!

Thanks, glad you liked them. The charter was with Northeast Charter Boat Co and was arranged by the New England Aquarium Dive Club.

http://www.northeastcharterboat.com/index.htm

We had Capt. Bill Lussier that day. Great guy runs the boat well and knows the area. I'd definitely charter with them again.


Shadow,

We did the swim with the dolphins thing down in Orlando, FL a few years ago at Discovery Cove. It's a part of Sea World but at a seperate location. You don't need to know how to scuba and these are trained dolphins so the interaction is controlled making it safe for the kids. In addition to the dolphins they have a salt water lagoon everyone can snorkle around in that has all kinds of different critters in it. Tons of rays too, mostly southern sting and eagle. They also have a fresh water lazy river type thing that you can float along on or snorkle in. It has depths of up to 10' and various things on the bottom to look at. It's a bit expensive but well worth doing once imo.

Nice photos I should do the same with when I go scubadiving. I have never ever seen seals and would love to swim with them it must be so much fun. the best I got to was swimming with dolphines (i know I'm lame).

I love it that we have a Marine Mammal Rehab center at school. We're a stage Two rehab and for NE Aquarium and for the local areas in Maine. Sometimes we have the CUTEST baby seal pups. But most of the time we have anywhere from 2-4 adults on campus.

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Copepod is my homeboy:r&r:
college kid!

and the only thing i be stealin' are some z's between classes!!

Nothing lame about getting to swim with dolphins Aliviane. I hope I'm lucky enough to encounter a pod of wild dolphins in open water someday. I also hope you get the chance to dive with seals. If they're in the mood to socialize you'll never forget the experience.

Lil Shark, that's so awesome that you get to interact with them on a regular basis. It's a shame that it has to be under those circumstances though. But otoh I'll bet you get quite a charge when you release one back into the wild after you've helped it recooperate.