Dogs, seals and floating rope
| 11 |
| May |
| 2010 |
This season has seen an unusual amount of rubbish in the water. Most of it is wood and therefore harmless (unless it hits someone's propellers!) although we do get the odd sizeable log floating around and we all have to be careful of those!
Earlier this week we were enjoying a sunny (but chilly!) trip around the west side of Ramsey when we saw a young bull seal surrounded by netting. Diesel is demonstrating in the photo here just how easy it is to get tied up in this stuff (and just how good it smells to dogs and seals...)
- Diesel dog investigates rope rubbish
Our hearts sank because handling a seal of that size in an attempt to help it is at best very difficult. After a quick (and brutal) passenger briefing about how dangerous seals are and how they must at all times keep clear of it we edged nearer to assess whether or not we could do anything. It is sometimes possible to cut seals free but one has to be really careful in approach. The last successful attempt saw a seal anchored by the lobster pot buoy she was attached to and Tim putting a fender in her mouth so that she could bite that rather than him!
Fenders and boat hook to hand we approached gently and had the good luck to be able to move the netting in the opposite direction to the way the seal was moving so we were able to haul the netting on board safely out of the way. Neither of us could believe how lucky we had been. We dragged the rope and netting behind the console, where Diesel began to investigate enthusiastically.
We dragged the rope up the steps at St Justinian at the end of the day and then disposed of it, much to Diesel's disgust. It's easy to see why seals would be interested in this stuff.
- Diesel and Tim prepare to remove rope
