After years of talking about it, I finally got out on Fishers Island Sound in winter to see the migratory seals that swim down from the Gulf of Maine and Canada every year to relax in the warmer coastal waters off Connecticut. My old newspaper editor Steve Fagin wrote up an excellent narrative of our adventure for his newspaper The Day, which you can read here. Me and Steve were in one tandem kayak, while Steve’s kayaking buddies Phil and Ian were in another tandem kayak, as you can see in the photo below:
It was chilly. We were all in full winter gear, given the air temperature of about 40 degrees, the 15mph winds, and the frigid water. But as we paddled the five miles across the Sound from Groton, Connecticut, to Fishers Island, we quickly built up internal heat. Still, as Steve wrote, none of us were eager to get too wet:
“What did you say the water temperature is?” my buddy Steve Kurczy called out.
“Thirty-eight degrees!”
“And how long …”
He didn’t have to finish the question.
“Oh, about 15 minutes, maybe 20,” I replied. “Depends on your body fat.”
Actually, I was a little off. I later looked it up and learned that the United States Search and Rescue Task Force estimates a human submersed in water 32.5 to 40 degrees can last 15 to 30 minutes until exhaustion or unconsciousness, and then survive up to 90 minutes.
“No worries,” I said.
Waves as high as three feet got me fairly soaked in the bow.
It was all worthwhile once I caught glimpse of the seals. As we approached Fishers Island, I could suddenly make out dozens of them, from little babies to big old fellas, sunbathing on a rocky shoal just offshore. Sensing our approach, the seals waddled off their rocks and submerged below water. Then something curious began to happen: the adults turned back and circle us, popping up their heads on all sides of our kayaks — I’m not sure if they were inspecting us as their enemy, friend, or potential food source.
It was amazing to see but nearly impossible to capture on camera. In this short video below taken with my iPod, you can still discern a few curious seals popping their heads up from the water to inspect us.
