A seal dozing on a slab of floating ice lifts its head as a sailing boat glides past, and its sudden lunge makes everyone on deck jump. Enrico Tettamanti filmed the moment in Alaska during the Kamana Sailing Expedition and posted it as "Scary Seal" on 26 October 2013. Behind the comedy is a good lesson about why seals lie on ice and how boats should share the water with them.
The Kamana Sailing Expedition
Kamana is the name Enrico Tettamanti has given to his expedition yachts. In 2000 he built a Finot-Cigale 16 of that name himself, and over the following two decades he sailed more than 150,000 miles. The later Kamana is a 72-foot Solaris 72 designed by Doug Peterson and built, in Yachting World's words, "to sail from pole to equator". Tettamanti sails with his wife Giulia Azzalli, and their voyages have taken in Antarctica, Disko Bay in Greenland, Alaska, Raja Ampat and Mexico's Sea of Cortez.
Why seals in Alaska rest on floating ice
In the tidewater glacier fjords of southcentral and southeast Alaska, chunks of ice calved from the glaciers make ideal resting platforms. NOAA Fisheries describes this floating ice as essential habitat for harbor seals, especially for mothers nursing pups and for animals in their annual moult. Only a limited number of ice-filled inlets offer it, among them Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, College Fjord and Disenchantment Bay.
Pupping and moulting take place in spring and summer, the same months when cruise ships and tour boats visit the fjords. Seal numbers have fallen significantly over recent decades in Glacier Bay and Aialik Bay, while vessel traffic has grown.
How to watch seals from a boat
A seal that slides off the ice in alarm spends energy it needs, and a pup that ends up in cold water can be separated from its mother. Research cited by NOAA found that seals approached to 100 metres were about 25 times more likely to flush than seals at 500 metres. Under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, any act of pursuit, torment or annoyance that could injure a marine mammal or disturb its behaviour counts as harassment. NOAA's voluntary guidelines for glacial fjords suggest:
- keep about 500 yards (a quarter mile) from seals on ice when safe navigation allows;
- avoid head-on approaches, sudden course or engine changes, large wakes and loud noises;
- stay out of thick ice;
- where possible, visit outside the midday haul-out peak, roughly 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
- take extra care in Tracy Arm and Disenchantment Bay from 15 May to 30 June, when mothers have young pups.
Binoculars and a long lens bring the animals close without moving the boat closer. For a wider view of the same waters, watch humpback whales feeding from an aerial perspective.
Related reading
- Paul Nicklen and the Leopard Seal: The Story Behind the Penguin Offerings
- Juha Salo’s Seal-Pup Encounter on Finland’s Coast
- Mary Marshall’s Elephant Seal Pup Encounter in Antarctica
- Charlie and the Seal: An Antarctic Camera Encounter
Sources
- Enrico Tettamanti: Scary Seal (YouTube)
- Yachting World: Five years sailing around the world in five beautiful minutes
- NOAA Fisheries: Frequent questions on Alaska harbor seal approach guidelines in glacial fjords
- Video and still: Enrico Tettamanti / Kamana Sailing Expedition
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