This long but a great story on the Outdoors page of todays edition of The Okanagan Saturday. When a group of Kelowna kayakers asked the Sheriff to act as their leader in exploring Broughton Archipelago Provincial Marine Park, he joked: We wont have to go looking for critters; theyre going to come to us. That silly promise came back to haunt him on Canada Day as we were going through a narrow channel between two small islands in the Canoe Islets northeast of Telegraph Cove on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. As we drifted through the channel, a large seal head popped out of the water on our left, followed by a smaller seal head. Paddling buddy Holly held her right hand over the right side of her kayak and said with a laugh: I want the seal to come up right here. Within a few seconds, she was staring down into its big brown eyes. Then it disappeared underwater again. Be careful what you wish for, the Sheriff advised her as we all laughed about the close encounter. However, less than a minute later, the seal smashed into the right side of the Sheriffs kayak. As he turned toward the loud bang, he saw the thick body of the seal halfway out of the water and felt its jaws clamp onto the jacket covering his right shoulder. Fortunately, he was wearing a PFD under the jacket. I was just attacked by that seal, he told everyone. When several expressed disbelief, he turned and showed them the rip in the back of his jacket, a jagged hole which was no doubt the result of considerable force. We quickly paddled out of the channel but when we paused a short distance away, the same two seal heads again popped out of the water. So we wasted no time in making a quick departure. Afterward, several paddlers noted the Sheriff has the widest and most stable of the seven kayaks. If the seal had attacked anyone else, the kayak might have capsized leaving a paddler at the mercy of an aggressive and experienced swimmer. During many years of paddling on the B.C. coast, this was the first time anyone in our group had experienced or heard of such an attack. Other paddlers we met along the way were shocked and surprised as well. However, the next day when visiting Village Island, we met Brad, an experienced guide from North Island Kayaks in Telegraph Cove. After relating our frightening seal experience, he said a similar encounter happened to his buddy, Joel, in the same area last year. Joel was paddling through the same narrow channel in a kayak with his spare paddle tied to the deck behind him. Without warning, a seal jumped onto his rear deck and was thrashing about on top of the paddle, perhaps trying to get at his buddy. An experienced paddler, Joel immediately braced his kayak (using his paddle in the water to keep him upright) so he wouldnt end up face-to-face with the seal in the seals territory. The seal eventually slid off and Joel immediately paddled out of the channel, rather quickly one can imagine. The paddle with a bite mark is still displayed in the shop. We laughed, somewhat nervously, suggesting BC Parks erect signs at the channel entrances warning of an aggressive seal, much like its bear warning signs. Although there were jokes about the Sheriffs black jacket and white kayak resembling an orca, we speculated it was a mother protecting her offspring or guarding her turf. However, the Sheriff thought his wooden Greenland paddle may have reminded the seal that Greenlanders in kayaks hunt seals. It was yet another reminder that all of these creatures are wild animals and we are venturing into their home. Caution is always advised. And a PFD seal flack jacket.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 23:26:13 +0000
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