Cute Sea Lions Enjoy Surfing And Putting On A Show On Rough California Waves

USA Today’s FTW

What do you get when you mix rough California waves and cute sea lions together? You get a spectacular show, that’s what. It’s a sight to behold and it will leave you feeling that the world just has so many wonderful surprises still in store.

Expert surfers from all four corners of the globe that that California’s central coast provides one of the best surfing experiences. The breaks and surf zones are challenging and rewarding at the same time. Little did people realize then that the animals are also getting in on the action.


Surfing afficionados travel through Malibu, Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey Bay, and the Gold Coast just to ride the rough waves and challenge themselves when the sea is at its most tempestuous. These areas remain unrivaled to this very day, and that’s because men and women are required to traverse through big waves and underlying corals as they ride the towering sea foam.

While the California beaches have long been synonymous with challenge, the surfing world has yet now met another of its group of contenders. It seems as if sea lions are now up to the task as they have also started enjoying the rough surfs. These new wakesurfers are enjoying the amazing swells throughout the state’s central coast.

An onlooker named Ryan Lawler witnessed this rare but spectacular site and decided to capture the whole event in a video. He was in the coast off Santa Barbara Island, within the Channel Islands National Park just west of Los Angeles, when he saw the sea lions surfing the gigantic waves. The skill came naturally for them, which makes one realize just how powerful the evolutionary forces can be.

In the footage he took, the skilled pinnipeds can be seen riding the waves as they flipped through the surface while taking huge jumps despite the size of the swells. The video was captured using high-speed photography. Although no sound was recorded, it still remains to be a memorable watch.

Lawler, who runs Pacific Offshore Expeditions, created a footage with the iconic sound of the Surfaris, Wipeout.” The whole video is a witness to just how energetic these mammals have been. In fact, it’s caught the eye of several experts. This led to the video being included in National Geographic’s Pacific Offshore Expeditions.

A spokesman of Lawler’s company shares, “Our trip to Santa Barbara Island was bumpy and dive conditions questionable. But what we found in light of this was a wonderful surprise: surfing sea lions! None of us had ever seen such sustained and enthusiastic wave riding from pinnipeds before. It was a joy to watch!” 

The whole event was just so unique and remarkable that the crew opted to return to Santa Barbara Island in the hopes of getting more footage. Unfortunately, the entire site wasn’t meant to happen again. They simply had to settle for that day that they saw the sea lions making the most out of the ocean’s condition. Lawler further talks about that fateful day,“On the exposed side of the island the swell was huge but we found some sun. As we rounded the southern portion of the island, which has an islet called Sutil Island, we noticed sea lions flying out of the back of the waves. It was an awesome moment.”


This priceless moment may happen again, but no one can say when. The session, however spectacular it had been, was all too quick. When the crew went back, the area was mucked by the thick, foggy marine layer of an unusually warm January. Lawler shares, “I had never seen that before at this island, which is well known for its sea lionsSo we stayed there for 20 minutes, observing and waiting for the sun to break up the fog. Then we dove for about 90 minutes and came back, but all the sea lions had disappeared.”

Sea lions are reputed to be strong and agile swimmers. They have been known to body surf on occasion. Unfortunately, only the lucky few are able to capture these precious and wild moments.

 

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