Whatever it wants.
I was the first of our usual swim group to arrive at the club at 5:45 am. Mark was the next to show up. We met at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach. While we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive we heard some shouting down at the pier. It was still pitch black, we both had ear plugs and swim caps on so it was a bit confusing. Mark took a step out of the club, paused and listened. I made my way down to the beach to see what was going on. Russ, a club member, had been hit by a sea lion. He wasn't bitten, just bumped.
By the time I made my way back into the club there were 6-7 swimmers discussing whether we should go out at all. Vince, who swam the Maui Channel where the pilots are required to carry firearms due to shark threat, seemed unphased. Rebecca's vote was to hit the sauna. Mark seemed less enthusiastic than Vince but slightly more so than Rebecca. Mark said he and his wife Sunny encountered a sea lion a couple months back. He said the sea lion was all over Sunny but she wasn't injured. Finally, we all agreed to go out. The plan was to swim as close together as possible and head for the beach if anyone in the group got bumped.
As I waded slowly into the water I thought, "it is hard enough to get into the cold water at daybreak without wondering if a 500 pound sea lion is lurking just beneath the water." Just then 6 swimmers bolted past me. It was more like the start of a race than our usual slow, spiritual entry into the bay. Vince took the lead, as he usually does, and everyone else followed. I think everyone was afraid of being left behind and confronting the sea lion alone. It was my turn, so I dove in and muttered the usual expletive. Off we swam, faster than usual and in the tightest swim formation I've ever seen. We were literally shoulder to shoulder, finger to toe swimming. It was really cool.
Well, we made it back unscathed. Another exciting morning in the bay. Later in the sauna, we talked about the freak sea lion attack last week in Australia where a 13 year girl was left with a broken jaw and three less teeth. We also recalled the less frightening week last year when a baby sea lion attacked 14 swimmers in Aquatic Park. The poster above hangs in the Dolphin Club. Its meant as a joke, but then again. . .
