Life on the Outside

Despite the lack of a blazing sun (I’ve given up on such a thing happening on the Pacific Northwest coast) I decided to brave Netarts Bay this afternoon for a little kayaking and had a wonderful, albeit all to brief, reward. As I was paddling along, I felt something bump the

Well, hello there.

underside of the kayak. This is an inflatable kayak, still quite heavy duty, so things bumping the kayak are very noticeable. At low tide, you can much of the sandbar that runs throughout the bay. In fact, there’s actually a small channel that winds through the bay to allow larger boats access since the bay is largely impassible. So imagine my surprise and pleasure when a few seconds later a sleek gray harbor seal popped up just four or five feet in front of the kayak.

Of course I immediately stopped paddling, He (or she) simply bobbed in the water, looking me and my bright yellow kayak over. Just as quickly as he emerged he slipped below the waterline and disappeared.  A few moments later, he reappeared off my stern, again only a few feet away. He continued this disappear/reappear a few more time before the current and his search for fish finally led us apart.

For natives of the Oregon coast, spotting a harbor seal is much like spotting elk in Colorado or a black bear in Yosemite National Park. They’re everywhere. But for me, it was a magical event. With just the sound of gulls squawking overhead and waves splashing against the hull of my kayak, I felt utterly and completely untethered from my landlocked world.

Kayaking in Netarts Bay

I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow! Although I really do need to learn how to exit my kayak a little more gracefully. I look a bit like that seal flopping about on the shore. Oh, well.  Here’s hoping for dry, if not sunny, skies.