The week a harbor seal stole my sandwich... and my backup sandwich

So last Tuesday in Seattle, I was on a simple hull cleaning job on a 120-foot yacht. I surfaced for my surface interval and had my lunch bag sitting on the dive platform. I turn around for maybe 30 seconds to check my gauges, and I hear this weird slapping noise. This big, fat harbor seal had hauled himself up, unzipped my bag with his nose, and was chowing down on my turkey sub. I yelled, he slid off, no big deal. I had a backup PB&J. Next day, same spot, same seal. This time he waited until I was fully geared up and about to splash. He just pops his head up, looks me right in the mask, and snatches the whole bag off the platform. My tender was laughing so hard he almost fell in. Anyone else had a persistent underwater thief ruin their lunch plans?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_mitchell2mo ago

Honestly, I used to think seals were just cute and curious. That story about the second-day heist, though, that shows a real problem-solving brain. It wasn't just an accident, it was a plan. Makes you respect their cleverness, even when it costs you a sandwich.

olivia_chen352mo ago

Feel your pain, that's next-level seal planning lol. Had a seagull swipe my whole burrito once, but this is way more personal. Hope you packed a triple backup after that.

seth_green8529d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, seagulls are the worst (they're basically just flying trash pandas with wings). But yeah, seals are definitely smarter about it - they case the joint and come back for round two. At least with a burrito theft you can kinda shrug it off, but a planned sandwich heist feels like a betrayal of trust (not that I've ever trusted a seal with my lunch, but still). Triple backup is the only way to go now, maybe with a decoy sandwich too.