RE: [Paddlewise] Monterey Breakwater Otter Encounter

>	Were you paddling a glass, plastic or foldable?  I'm curious of the
>tenacity of his grip.  On the bright side, at least it wasn't a sea lion...
>or larger. =)

I paddle a bright yellow Cobra Tourer, that's a Linear Poly sit-on-top
kayak, 15 feet long by 28 inches wide. I have an 'A' hatch bow and stern
and the otter jumped up on the bow one and sniffed along the edges of the
hatch as if looking for something good. The hatch area is pretty good
sized and is waffle iron patterned so it is not slippery. I rocked the
boat before I splashed him and shouted, and the rocking didn't seem to
make the otter uncomfortable as it did me. 

I wouldn't have been as surprised if it were a harbor seal, they're
fairly small and are quite curious and social with divers and kayakers. I
did have the thought of an elephant seal doing something like that, it
would have sunk my boat under the water as they weigh tons. It is rather
unlikely that anyone would have been feeding an elephant seal thereby
teaching it to expect to mooch off of people. I got the distinct feeling
that this one was quite used to people and was looking for a treat.

Fair winds and happy bytes,
-- 
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   Dave Flory, San Jose, CA.             daflory_at_pacbell.net     
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  Speak softly and study Aikido, then you won't need a big stick.  ©2000
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