‘When angels fell, some fell on the land, some on the sea. The former are the faeries and the latter were often said to be the seals.’
While this old Orcadian view of seal origins is more poetic, modern science suggests they evolved from land-dwelling carnivores and are more closely related to bears than angels.
Seals are so ubiquitous around our coasts that it’s easy to take them for granted. Most people probably don’t realise that Britain is the best place in Europe to see seals. We may only have two species but the UK is home to more than a third of the common seals and almost all the grey seals in Europe. Indeed our 120,000 grey seals represent 40% of the world population. There are a few ringed seals in the Baltic but to find more species you’d really need to head north to the Arctic.
Grey seal distribution extends south to the Wadden Sea and northern France, but sailors further south are unlikely to see seals of any sort. The Mediterranean monk seal, the only species in southern Europe, is now very rare and endangered.
There are in fact only 18 species of true seals worldwide (not counting the recently extinct Caribbean Monk seal), mostly found in polar and temperate regions. Their close relatives the eared seals (sealions and fur seals), are not found in Europe, and their tusked cousin, the walrus, is (normally!) confined to the Arctic.
Misconceptions
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Shearwater sloop sailing in the 1960s
Genevieve Leaper shares her late father John Leaper's recollections-compiled from handwritten notes-of cruising the Channel
Timing an Atlantic crossing
Professional meteorologist and sailor Chris Tibbs shares his knowledge of how to choose the best time to sail 'across the pond'
Transatlantic first
It's 70 years since Ann Davison became the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic. Katy Stickland looks back at her achievement
Going dizzy on an island sailing odyssey
Ken Fowler becomes the first sailor to circumnavigate every island in England and Wales-and all done in a 4m dinghy!
Boats for coastal cruising
Duncan Kent chooses a selection of the best sail and motor boats under 40ft most suitable for adventurous cruising along the coast
Industry view on HVO
The RYA, IWA and CA are working to help recreational boating transition to a Net Zero future, as the CA's
HVO RENEWABLE DIESEL Myth or miracle?
A new generation of biofuel that's cleaner, greener, better for your engine and less prone to microbial growth sounds too good to be true... but the facts beg to differ
Little ships and the wrong sort of waves
Why the correct manoeuvres for the sea conditions will reduce hogging and sagging stress on both ship and crew
Watching boats, saving jerseys
It's amazing what you can see from a hospital window if it's the right hospital
Sweating the mooring asset
Sam Llewellyn looks at ways of getting top value out of his boat's swinging mooring