Paddling with the Seals

The day before New Years Eve I wanted to paddle from Jones Beach State Park and see if I could find some seals in the bay. Not one to paddle alone in extremely water, I enlisted the company of my dad who is always ready and willing.

We were a bit concerned while heading down the Robert Moses Causeway when we realized there was hardly any open water to be seen. Ice was everywhere. Luckily, the further west we drove down Ocean Parkway the less ice we saw. Finally, pulling into the parking lot for the Jones Beach Boat Basin we were able to see nothing but open water. And, to our surprise it was completely flat and calm! What a great day for a paddle!!!

Once on the water we headed west towards Lido Beach and the Jones Inlet. I've never paddled the inlet during the summer, but imagine it to be an amazingly busy and potentially dangerous place to be. But, this day it was glass calm, quiet, and totally ours. Well, there were an insane number of Brants enjoying the scenery with us.

And then seals! We almost didn't realize what we were seeing at first. "Was that a bird?" "Is that a buoy?" They seemed to be checking us out as much as we were them. Some swam towards us. Some circled around us to watch from behind. A few were never seen, just heard snorting or splashing in the water.

Of course it is incredibly hard to get a good picture of a seal in the water, especially from the seat of a kayak. But, I did the best I could. Finally, we turned north and headed out of the inlet, paddling a bit deeper into the marshes north of Jones Beach. A thermos full of hot chocolate and a few miles later we rounded Jones Island and turned west towards our put-in. By this time the wind and tide had both turned against us and my dad and I fought for every forward inch. So, cold, wet, and tired I pulled with everything I had to get back to my Jeep fast and get the heat on for us both.


Of course my old trusty truck chose that exact moment to let me down and not start, well, not without a lot of coaxing. But, she finally turned over and began cranking out heat for our frozen bodies.


All in all, it was an awesome paddle on an awesome day!