Our Surprise seal encounter – Diving with Seals video
These elegant swimmers were living in 12M of water near Montagu, a ship wreck at Shutter Point, Lundy Island. We were filming divers on the wreck when we spotted over a dozen grey seals. The island has an estimated population of around 200 Atlantic grey seals. Gareth took advantage of this close proximity to grab amazing shots of these underwater acrobats with his GoPro. In fact one even got close enough to have a nibble at his plastic fin, this surprise seal encounter truly made the video!
And although these seals are elegant swimmers, they are quite the opposite on land, belly flopping their way into the ocean. However, a Lundy Island seal’s habitat is the water and the water is its castle! As they glide through the water like a missile they take very little notice of Gareth and the divers. Which meant that we were able to get some prime footage in great visibility. The result? A diving with seals video that Finley Allen, on his work experience, produced.
The Shoot
Historic England Invited us down to make a film about their survey of HMS Montagu. Historic England regularly checks wreck sites to better understand the condition and vulnerability of the wreck. This time however Historic England invited the charity Help for Heroes to their survey. This gave these 8 wounded war veterans, the opportunity to experience the freedoms of the ocean. Jock Easton Head of Recovery West for Help for Heroes said “Diving allows the veterans we support to participate in an environment that enables those who are physically injured to feel weightless under water, and those with mental-health wounds to be able to forget their troubles for a while.”
Thank You!
Finally, we would like to thank Historic England for our involvement with this fantastic project. It was great fun being able to dive with the wildlife surrounding Lundy Island and the Help For Heroes veterans that took part.
To find out more about animal encounters whilst on shoots check out our blogs:
Falkland Islands Elephant Seals
