DEATH OF A MONK SEAL
One peaceful autumn evening we anchored off a small, uninhabited island on the way back from a short cruise around the Sporades. The Aegean islands are quiet at this time of year and Beduin, my partner’s Nicholson 32, was alone in the anchorage. The days were getting shorter so we jumped straight on our paddleboards to explore while it was still light.
Paddling round a low rocky headland I spotted a smooth, round shape in the water among the jagged rocks fringing the shore. I felt a thrill of excitement - could it be the animal I’d been hoping to see for the past two years? Yes! When the round shape turned it was unmistakably the head of a seal. It was a big animal and reminded me of a bull grey seal. But, unlike the grey or common seals at home in Scotland, this seal was much more wary; it stared at us for a
