Up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, I fully intended to find me some seals or else. Cruising down to North Chatham, I discovered that the pull-over parking that I'd hoped to use had a big old sign right in front of it, "No Parking Along State Highway!" Not willing to let a little thing like a sign come between me and the seals, I poked around a bit and discovered a small sand lane that ended at a small clearing with enough room for a few cars to park. It was a short walk through the marsh grass to Ryder's Cove. I parked, unloaded, and set off (hoping that the car was actually above the high tide line).
There is a new break in the barrier island that protects North Chatham and creates Pleasant Bay (of which Ryder's Cove is a part). Last week I chose not to go out through it because the surf was a bit intense. This time it looked pretty calm so I zoomed through on the ebb tide. Of course as soon as I'd committed to the route, the surf showed up. But it was all manageable, I just had to pay attention to the shoals and points on which the waves were forming. This barrier island is several miles long, so by the time I got to the far end of it, I was ready for a break from all the wave action. I found a small indentation in the shore line that seemed to protect it from the dumping surf. However, a colony of seals had also found it. I decided they'd have to share.
After a short break and a mass exodus of seals, I was back on the water and headed across the channel to the sandy stretch that creates Monomoy. The ebb was running strongly so I moved right along down the shoreline. No sooner was I out of sight of the mainland than the first dozen or so seals showed up to keep me company. I suspect it gets boring out there day after day with nothing but sand and water, so they were excited to have some company. They accompanied me south, picking up acquaintances along the way. Eventually there were about 50 seals at the party. They popped up nearby, stared at me, smacked a flipper and ducked under again. Their dark bodies slipped this way and that under the kayak and through the waves all around me. One fellow came up so close that in his hurry to get away his splashes drenched me. Fishy-breathed fellow!
A few miles down the coast I came upon the first big herd of seals on the beach, maybe a couple hundred. The beach was black with them. Another couple hundred were a short way farther along. Most of them ignored me, but some came out to join the merriment. It was actually quite noisy with all their splashing around and snorting and slapping. The little babies leaped up high. A few of the larger seals swam alongside, just out of reach, keeping pace with the boat. It was an amazing experience.
After about an hour I thought I should turn around. The tide would soon be turning, and a breeze was setting up to make the return a bit of a slog. The seals thought it was a stupid idea - why not just float on with the current some more? But when they saw I was serious, they soon came back to join me all the way back up the coast again.
The wind stiffened and my work doubled, so it took awhile to get back to the protection inside the barrier island. From there, though, it was easy paddling. Even here, seals followed me, making "Surprise!" snorts right behind the boat as if to play a practical joke.
I was back by 1:30 pm, having paddled 20 miles in 6 hours. My car was still there, high and dry. This trip was one of the all-time best animal encounters I've had in a kayak.
Here's a video of the seals: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2081715646743
Below is the route, red heading out, yellow heading back.
