I was sitting below on my previous boat in Ventura harbor (Freeport Islander 36) working on the computer and started hearing this 'WHAP,WHAP' sound coming from outside. Soon after the loud whapping started I began hearing the cries of seabirds, a few at first and then more and more in what seemed like hundreds of seabirds screaming and making a racket, all the time hearing this WHAP, WHAP. The sound of all the birds making a racket along with the whaping forced me to get up to see what was going on.

I went on deck to find hundreds of birds screaming, circling and diving in the water around a sea lion that had this 3 foot fish in its mouth being held by it's tail and beating it on the hull of a sailboat next to mine. The sea lion was in the process of killing the fish by beating it on the hull while hundreds of birds were grabbing anything that fell off. It was an amazing experience to watch only 30 feet from me.

It's difficult to find that kind of wildlife experience anywhere than on a boat. I'll never forget it.