Like a sea lion flashmob, the divers get totally swarmed. Within minutes the waters have gone from crystal clear to a murky shade of green. Now the fun begins!brScuba Diving with California and Steller Sea Lions off Hornby Island, British Columbia is extremely popular among the scuba community. Scuba divers travel from around the globe to visit Hornby Island. Domenico whom recorded this footage is originally from Italy, now residing in Vancouver. Sea to Sky Scuba in Vancouver had made all the arrangements for the excursion, making it easy for the group to gather, get aboard a ferry to Vancouver Island, and start enjoying the weekend. Hornby Island being tucked away in the Salish Sea, is a short ferry ride from Vancouver to Vancouver Island followed with a 2 hour drive from Nanaimo. Using both a GoPro Hero3 as well as a Canon 5D camera setup made for amazing footage. The sea lions migrate up from California for the winter and seem to continually return to this location. The more mature sea lions tend to stay away from divers but the juveniles are incredibly curious and playful just like puppy dogs. Unlike some shark diving excursions that lure the animals in with bait, nothing is done to attract the sea lions attention other than to get into the water. In fact the best practice is to be in the water and do nothing, relax and wait. This tends to calm the animals which makes for a much better experience… most times. Winds were calm making for a somewhat still sea. Water temperatures in the Pacific Northwest are generally 42-43 degrees fahrenheit all year long. These conditions along with the particularly large number of juvenile sea lions made for excellent diving. The visibility was reduced once the many sea lions began racing around, stirring up the sediment on the ocean floor. Although this may appear dangerous, it is not, although divers should be experienced and confident with their scuba skills. It can easily become intimidating with the number of these large animals that do appear at times. Some get very friendly and may swarm the divers in groups. Being very curious animals and unable to reach out and physically tough these other creatures (divers) suddenly coming into their territory, they sometimes begin to nibble and or bite the divers hands, fins, arms and …well you will see! Ron whom was Domenico’s dive buddy on this trip, is retired and lives in Victoria on Vancouver Island. Being a confident experienced diver as Ron is also comes into play when the sea lions get more curious and playful. They have been know to tug and pull on other scuba gear as well. Hoses, masks, breathing regulators all could be pulled from their proper locations so the diver needs to be on guard and ready in case this situation was to arise. As expected, if a diver were to have a breathing hose damaged or the mouthpiece pulled from the divers mouth this could result in a DANGEROUS situation. Hence a comfortable, well experienced diver proficient in scuba diving is required for enjoying these beautiful animals in their environment. The ocean is the world of many animals, when us humans enter that realm we need to give it our utmost respect.
Underwater Flashmob of Sea lions Catches the Divers off Guard
