Seals...?

[Brad Fournier]

Where is the best place to paddle out and see some seals this time of year? Would the salvages off Rockport be a good choice?

Brad

Tsunami RM 120 Blue.

[EEL]

Not sure what the migration schedule is, but about two weeks ago there were still tons of seals in the Great Waas area and not many in Casco Bay so I suspect they have yet to show up in big numbers in Mass.

Ed Lawson

[bob budd]

I don't recall a trip to the Salvages where we did not see seals. The numbers do vary. I thought of the seals as I saw the dry island glistening white in the sun from Thacher Island this weekend. Of course, that highlights the downside to the trip. Another place that I have always seen seals is the Breakers past the Gooseberries.

[JohnHuth]

A lot of the seals in Maine are harbor seals. They do migrate, and are still mostly up in Maine. On the other hand, there are a bunch of gray seals that don't migrate who live year-round.

This may be a bit far afield, but there is a huge gray seal population in the Monomoy Islands/Nauset Beach area. They're pretty curious, too, and will swim right up to you (even though we're supposed to give them a good distance). From what I can tell, gray seals tend to be less skittish than harbor seals.

Anyway, on the southern end of South Nauset Beach, there is a large colony of gray seals. A good launching point is the "causeway" next to stage harbor. Paddle south in the embayment between S. Nauset Beach and N. Monomoy Island.

[EEL]

>

>

>This may be a bit far afield, but there is a huge gray seal

>population in the Monomoy Islands/Nauset Beach area.

This is far afield too, but ....

What is happening with the listed trip to Monomy Islands to go look at seals? Has been TBD since listed.

Ed Lawson

[rcohn]

Don't know of a place, (except Isles of Shoals) but the best time is at low tide when the seals are more likely to be up on the rocks.

Ralph Cohn

Elaho DS, blue & white with yellow trim

[Rob Hazard]

It may be too early in the fall for them yet, but the Badgers Rocks in the mouth of the Merrimack usually hold 4 or 5 dozen harbor seals every low tide. Easily seen from Salisbury Beach and an easy paddle from Newburyport.

Rob

[donperry]

I’ve spent the last two weekends camped on Nauset Beach in the RV. There were more seals swimming north & south along the beach than I’ve ever seen in previous years. It used to be a dozen or so but now it’s almost a continuous parade.

Saturday morning I launched from mile marker 7 south of the parking lot and paddled south to the Chatham Harbor entrance. The inrushing current just sweeps you along after that. Once inside I stopped to replace a lure and noticed two people onboard an inflatable kayak that seemed to be struggling with the flood tide. They flailed along in and out of the navigation channel between the tip of Nauset Beach and the Chatham Fish Pier. Swept along by the current, they were soon passing Tern Island and making slow progress back toward the mainland. Then I could see they were amongst a large group of seals.

I altered my course to a position where I would drift down near the seals. There were hundreds in each of the two groups I saw about a half mile ENE of the fish pier. I stayed very still & they took an interest in me, swimming twenty feet or so away, mostly on one side. When I did start paddling again they weren’t intimidated and followed along for about a mile as the current swept us toward Strong Island & Pleasant Bay. One had a neon green ring around its neck and sadly, another was wearing a green fishnet shawl, tight around the neck. It was lucky to chew its way out of the net without drowning, I guess.

If you want to see this large group of seals, launch from Cow Yard Lane in Chatham and it’s about a half mile to the east side of Tern Island. Pay close attention to the tide charts since there are powerful currents running there.