A Close Encounter

It was just another dive on the Longships reef, close in to avoid the worst of the tide. Ferreting among the kelp, sweeping through the deep gullies, sunlight playing on the white shell sand in the 20 metre visibility.

So far it had been uneventful, only a 3 lb. lobster which had flatly refused to go into one goody-bag, but was slipped into another while it was busily wrestling with the first! Shortly followed by a large crawfish, which had been happily sunning itself on a rock, and made only a token attempt at escape. Nothing exceptional in that! After about half an hour the time had come to surface. Signals exchanged, up we went.

As we cleared the canopy of kelp, arrayed below us like a tropical rainforest, my buddy started to jesticulate wildly - narks at 8 meters?! - no - below me - YIKE! something BIG and grey gliding effortlessly beneath our feet - WHAT THE ?! - a shark? - no - a full grown Atlantic grey seal, about the same size as us. Circling just below our fin tips, trapped air giving her mottled grey fur a silver sheen. Such grace, such TEETH! She looks into my eyes, rolls on her back opens her mouth to expose a very impressive set of teeth, I hope she only wants to play!! But it's ok, she swims to my buddy and bites HIS fins! Now it's my turn, such effortless movement, to turn in her' own length, and gently tug my fins.We are too sluggish to join the game, and she loses interest. One more circle of us and she shoots to the surface, where she bobs with her head out of the water, watching our surface cover boat, while we watch from beneath, as we continue our ascent. Then like a rocket she dives in a streak of bubbles and disappears. Totally exhilarated we surface, and for the rest of the day, burble on at great length to anyone, silly enough to ask about our brief close encounter with a rare wild animal! A truly magical experience!

(Of the world population (approx. 120000) of Grey seals, 60% live on our coasts, yet fishermen still demand that they be culled to protect their fisheries)

Nick Parsons - May 1989