There I was all alone bobbing amidst a kelp forest off the Gaviota coast on the RV Channelkeeper, playing photographic whack-a-mole with a harbor seal that would periodically pop his head above the water to say hello before once again sliding beneath the serene surface of the Pacific Ocean.
My guides on this excursion were Ben Pitterle and Penny Owens of the nonprofit Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. Among their tasks this past Thursday were taking plankton samples for the state Department of Public Health, monitoring recreational use of the channel, reporting prohibited fishing of protected areas, and grabbing a water sample from a pH testing station installed by a UCSB research group.
Their primary task, however, was to do reconnaissance at the Naples Marine Protected Area, where they rolled off the back of the boat in SCUBA gear, and left me to my lonesome — and my new marine mammal friend. The Naples coast, despite a parade of development plans since 1888, has remained largely pristine due to equal doses of luck and resistance from the county and environmental groups.