Seal in the surf at North Avalon last night

[astro]

There was a seal out the middle of maroubra last friday at about lunch time.He had a whole school of salmon to him self (lucky bugger).He hung around for about half an hour or so and was last seen traveling north laying on his back waving one flipper in the air (bloody showoff).

[loco4olas]

I often see a guy swimming WAY out the back in flippers and mask/snorkel towing an orange balloon, he's not diving, but just ocean swimming like that-any idea who the guy is and what his deal is-seems to me to be a Darwin Awards candidate....

the gentleman is a Russian emigre in his late 50s. His fitness routine is to don a full diving wetsuit, wetsuit helmet, mask, snorkel, diving flippers, a diver's knife and a mobile phone in a waterproof case, and swim extremely slowly from one end of Newport to the other and back. The balloon is attached to his diving belt and is a security device to reassure his daughter, who lives at the north end of the beach with a view of the water, and who demands that he somehow indicate his well-being.

He's an epic eccentric. Been at it for a couple of years now. And he's also excellent evidence of the lack of danger posed to swimmers off Sydney's beaches. 'Cause if sharks WERE gathered out there waiting for human prey, or even particularly interested in human prey at all, he'd have been hit long before now.

Those pitiful sharkmongering non-newsgatherers in TV tabloid land would have a great little story on their hands if they could be fcuked pursuing blokes like him. But no, they don't ever seem to go and look -- it's probably easier just to pay someone.

Ahh-that's a great story-are you sure the bloke has all his faculties in place-I'd think he'd look like a tasty mammal to any Carcharodon Carcharias milling about?

[Buff_Brad]

Some fisherman guy reckons he saw a leopard seal off the rocks at North Bondi last week.

[Damage]

FWIW my bro in law is a seal trainer at Taronga. Have had some up close and personal visits which are fun. They eat anything not tied down including waterproof membranes and concrete expansion joints and yeah...... powerful and smelly are 2 words that come to mind.

[Thomo]

If that's what you want, I edited my post to remove her name. I'm sure Trev will edit his quotation of my (now non-existent) post.

Nah-no worries, unfortunately the typed word does little to communicate what's behind the words compared to a face to face chat -Point Break will, deservedly, fade into insignificance by the time she's grown up a bit.

This must be a wind-up. Nobody would really do that to their daughter.

[Thomo]

Easy Thomo...that is his daughter you are talking about.....

Not talking about his daughter, talking about the name he gave her. I doubt it is true.

[purple pyramids]

apparently the big seal that's been seen around tama and bondi is a dugong. sounds a bit improbable to me, not that i know anything about the things. i guess the water is pretty warm. i friend says he got a good look at it.
maybe the same animal at avalon?

[lessormore]

Couple of fairy penguins out middle Maroubra today.

[black duck]

apparently the big seal that's been seen around tama and bondi is a dugong. sounds a bit improbable to me, not that i know anything about the things. i guess the water is pretty warm. i friend says he got a good look at it.
maybe the same animal at avalon?

It's either a fcuking long way from home or someone is pulling your pud.

"Australian dugongs live in the shallow warm waters of northern Australia ranging from Shark Bay Marine Park in Western Australia around the north to Moreton Bay in Queensland. They feed on seagrass, usually in quite shallow water 1-5 metres deep"

[murrum]

I shared a surf with a strange shaped object ( in that it kept changing shape) as it moved towards me at Dalmeny.
It didn't move like anything I had ever seen in the water. It was black and big I was fearfully fascinated. Eventually it move close enough for me to see it was a full sized sea lion (bigger than seals ) that wasn't full sized anymore it had been bitten in half.
I had and obeyed a very sudden urge to visit dry land again so I did
Realised that there had been only one bite to the former sea lion.

Similar thing happened at Tuross 2wks ago or so (0.5 x seal), the two surfers who saw it swore it happened in front of them (white pointer) - and of course made the local rag. (you think channel 9 are scrounging for stories, try the Moruya Times).