A couple of BC was horrified on Monday when a frantic sea lion tried to jump into their small fishing boat to escape a pod of orcas. Ernest and Viesia Godek were enjoying an afternoon at Pedder Bay, about a 30km drive from Victoria, on Monday when they saw a pod of killer whales pass by. “We were just parked in the water quite far from shore. Something clicked [the boat] under. It was definitely something that was alive and that was huge. It was very scary,” Godek told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. Mark Malleson, a nearby whale-watching guide with the Prince of Whales tour company, witnessed the encounter and told the Colonial Victoria Times that the sea lion was not being chased by the orcas, but may have heard them and then panicked. “Based on what we’re hearing from very experienced boaters and anglers, it’s never happened before,” Godek said. “That’s what happened to us, and we’re here to tell the story and share it with people.” The following is part of their conversation. Your boat isn’t that big, is it? We were the smallest boat out there. There were a number of them. Our boat is 14 feet long [four metres] and it’s like an open, 1970s, aluminum boat that has a bit of a leak in it. So it’s not that robust. And then something hits it. What did you think it was? We thought they were orca whales because they were heading our way. So they sank under water about 20 meters from the boat as they passed. It was heading in our direction, and at first I thought it was a whale, which would be unusual for a whale to actually hit a boat. And it wasn’t an orca. So what was it? It was a huge sea lion. And how does one react at that moment? It was very scary because we thought that, you know, there’s something that connects the orcas to the sea lion … and they caught us in the middle.
Sea lion tries to jump into couple’s boat BC
A sea lion tried to jump into a BC couple’s small aluminum fishing boat off Vancouver Island to escape from orcas. You thought there would be more things hitting your boat, more creatures trying to jump on your boat. Exactly … whether it was hunting or some kind of fight or struggle, we thought we were caught in the middle. And it was really scary because of the huge size of these animals. I can only imagine. So do you scream at a time like this or do you try to stay quiet? We were actually whispering to each other because there was a bang and then the head popped and then it disappeared under the water again and it was just silent. So it was calm, and so we whispered, [trying] not to make any noise. I don’t know what prompted us to do this, but we didn’t scream. We didn’t seem to, you know, struggle violently in any way. We were just looking at each other like “What are we doing?” What did your wife Viesia do and say? Were you holding on to each other for dear life? So was my wife Viesia [sitting] at the front on the bow of the boat. When the thump was heard … in the lower part of the boat, she immediately climbed to the floor of the boat so that she would not be so close and so exposed to the … higher level of the boat. So he went to the floor and lay down on the floor. And I think she may have even closed her eyes because she can’t remember the sea lion being there. Viesia and Ernest Godek were whispering to each other after something fell on their boat this week. Then a sea lion tried to get in. (Submitted by Ernest Godek) I bet you can. And I’ve seen videos, it seems to happen very, very quickly. But I bet it was like slow motion for you. How close did it get to you? Did he touch you? Could you smell it? It was just a breath away. I definitely smelled it. My clothes got soaked when the boat sank halfway under the water due to the weight of the sea lion and … I was wet, soaked up to my waist, and I could smell that smell for the rest of the day. He just wouldn’t let me. It is inexplicable how quickly everything happened and how little time you have to react. That’s why, you know, it’s important to wear our life jackets all the time, because it’s only split-second. How do you feel about why the sea lion wanted so badly, shall we say, to get on your boat? The orcas [seemed] to change course at some point and were heading straight for our boat. And I think that the sea lion, who was in the path of the orcs, was trying to escape them. That’s what he was trying to do [its] way to safety … looked very distressed. He was breathing very heavily when his head popped out of the water. He didn’t seem to be calm at all. He stuck to the boat until he decided [the] the safest shelter because it would be on top of the boat. But it wasn’t because it’s not the size of the vessel to hold a giant like him. The sea lion did not fully enter the boat and slipped back out, Godek said. (Brendon Bissonnette/Prince of Whales) Did you guys just speed up after that? He came, the boat was filled, you know, partly with a lot of water. And we were trying—I was trying to balance it back to the … over the water, and the sea lion must have realized that … the boat is not going to take it. So he slipped, slipped. And at that time, I revved the engine and was trying to make my escape from the area. How do you feel now? I’m still a little shaken. We saw the video for the first time last night, and … it’s a very scary moment where you’re, you know, in a very vulnerable position. That fight for… your life in a way that just, you know, brings back some thoughts and feelings even when we’re talking about it now. But I’ll be out there again. Written by Andrea Bellemare. Interview with Ernest Godek produced by Morgan Passi. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
