"Sea Lion Riot"

So I'm 3 days into a 3 day liveaboard dive trip aboard the Peace out of Ventura when they put us out on Santa Barbara Island. Dive #2 is off the Sea Lion rookery where we're told to stay out of the surf zone, be patient, and the sea lions will come to us. Fair 'nuff.

Once in the water, we're faced with great visibility (75'+) revealing a rather ugly strip reef with few fish and boring topography. I settle to the bottom to fiddle with stuff while patiently waiting an appearance by the sea lions. Ten minutes later, my patience is wearing a little thin and I strike off toward a new area. No sea lions make an appearance but my interest is piqued by a 4# or 5# lobster in a shallow hole. Less than a month later, I'd have been bringing home dinner. But, with lobster out of season, the only result is some motivation to explore some more of the reef.

At one point, I "turn a corner" and find a passage between shore and an offshore rock formation. The passage is 15' to 20' deep with sheer rock walls on each side rising to within 1' of the surface. It looks like a good place to explore. About half way along the passage, I notice some movement at the top of the wall to my left. Closer inspection reveals I'm being warily inspected by a trio of juvenile sea lions. They're cautiously poking their heads over the side of the wall 10' above me and 15' away in a demonstration of the most unimpressive bravado. My response was to pull out my knife and begin fiddling with some really interesting stuff I find on the rubble floor of the passage. Exactly what that interesting stuff was, I can't say, but the ploy worked. Curiosity began to get the best of 'em and, within a few minutes, my focus on that interesting stuff is shared by one of the pups who's curiously looking on from 3 feet away.

The boldness of the one led to varying increases in boldness by the onlooking pups who, by now, had been joined by another dozen buddies. From the top of the reef, young sea lions began coming off the wall in twos and threes, approaching within a foot or two, gandering for as long as nerve would hold at the big, noisy, slow, bubble-blowing, one-eyed monster.

About this time, more divers arrived and the fun really began. One particularly bold youngster was nibbling on the fingers, strobe cord, extension arms, and strobes of one of the photographers. In return, she would occasionally pose. One particular pose makes me smile still as I remember her upright in front of the camera blowing a steady, thin stream of bubbles. Needless to say, the photographers had a great time collecting sea lion portraits.

When most of the other divers left the area, a couple of us continued down the passage where we found that it deadended in a circular area with a rubble bottom. Here, the fun really began as more and more sea lions showed up. When the number reached more than 20, I gave up trying to count. We were surrounded by young, frisky sea lions emboldened by their own numbers. They'd swoop from the top of the reef in groups of 8 to 12, streak by, to, or behind us, hang out for fleeting moments, and then zoom back up the wall to where they started. It was a high energy display that made you dizzy trying to keep up with even a small part of it.

On a couple of occassions, in mid-riot, the pups would streak enmass over the top of the reef and disappear. A few seconds later, the impressive bulk of a full grown bull would glide over the edge of the reef, look down on us, and continue on. Seconds later, the crowd of juveniles would come pouring back off the top of the wall.

Two and a half hours and half way through a second tank, I climbed back aboard the Peace. Tired and grinning from ear to ear.

{norcadiver@sonic.net}