Our seal tours are pretty adventurous.  On most days we see our good friends the California Sea Lions basking in the sun, the occasional air craft carrier (or two!) but its not often that encounter the most elusive member of the US Navy, the submarine.

At the entrance to San Diego Bay is the Nuclear Powered Submarine Base.  As you can see by the photos, this one is being parked  by two C-tractors, or tug boats.  We can’t tell you the name of the sub, because, the Navy doesn’t want you to know who they are.  What we can tell you is that it is a Los Angeles class nuclear powered attack submarine. San Diego is home to several submarines including the the USS Hampton,USS Jefferson City, USS Asheville, USS Topeka, USS Helena, USS Salt Lake City, USS San Francisco, USS Portsmouth and USS Albuquerque.  Los Angeles class subs are the backbone of the United States submarine fleet.  They  are 362 feet long, home to a crew of 133 and can travel up to speeds of 35 knots.  They are often found in Tom Clancy novels, including The Hunt for Red October.

We suspect there was something special about this particular sub due to the added security in the form of a Naval security boat and Coast Guard security boat.

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One of the great things about my job doing tours out on San Diego Bay is that I get to see some really great marine life that is unexpected and very rare.  Sometimes it is a group of wild dolphins swimming through the bay who just happen to surface along side our boat, the “San Diego SEAL”!  Sometimes it is a big navy ship chugging through the bay along side of us or it may also be one of the FA-18 Hornets taking off from the North Island Naval Air station.  Of course, we always see Sea Lions swimming around or laying down for a break on the Bait Boxes out in the middle or the bay!  Then, we might also get to see a Submarine leaving the Sub base on it’s way out to sea!  And, if we are really lucky, we’ll get to see some of the Navy Dolphins jumping at the Marine Mammal Training Center.

Well today, we saw all of that, PLUS…a California Grey Whale who was lost in the harbor!  We got excellent up close views of him/her along the shore of Shelter Island on 2 of the 3 tours we did today.  We were the first to spot the Whale.  We notified the Coast Guard and they broadcast sightings throughout the day.  Within an hour after we spotted the lost whale, he was on the news!  Lots of media, choppers to an air view, and folks on Shelter and Harbor Island hoping to get a photo when he surfaced.  But the best seats had to be on the SEAL – just 5 feet above the water line! 

Maybe we will see it tomorrow.  I kind of hope not.  I hope it will have found its way out of the bay and will be able to continue its 13,000 mile journey back to Alaska for the summer!  Don’t you? 

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Sea lion sleeping in the San Diego Bay.

Remember the James Bond movie where Bond drives a Lotus right into the bay and as it sinks down under the water it transforms into a submarine? That was one of my favorite scenes from any Bond Movie–and I got to experience something equally as thrilling the last time I went to San Diego. The San Diego Seals Tour is a tour of the local sights and attractions but it’s unlike any other sightseeing tour I have ever taken. The Tour Bus, after driving around on the city streets, drives straight into the bay!

San Diego Seal Tour

Although we didn’t sink down to the bottom and fire any underwater to air missiles, like in the “Spy Who Loved Me”, the tour bus did sail along the San Diego Bay like a boat, after being a street bus just moments before. I loved it! And so did all the other tour guests. The tour bus/boat is a hydra terra amphibious vehicle that was specifically designed to go from land to water safely and comfortably. It was a really smooth ride, both while we toured San Diego by land and then when we hit the water. It was also open on all the sides, so everyone on board got a great view of everything we were passing.

We saw a lot of really interesting sights, like the Star of India (the world’s oldest active sailing ship) at the Maritime Museum, the U.S.S. Midway, Little Italy and more. Once we were in the bay the tour took us past some of the most breathtaking spots like Point Loma and the magnificent mansions along the hillside. One thing that was truly exciting was seeing the San Diego sea lions just lounging around in their natural habitat. There was a refreshing breeze in the air as we cruised past the fighter jets at the North Island Naval Air Station, and the Marine Mammal Training Center. We also got to see the Point Loma Submarine Base, I don’t know why, but there’s something so intriguing about submarines.

I’ve always loved the San Diego Bay and its picturesque allure, the San Diego Seals Tour was an amazing way to see all of the sights in the bay and still enjoy the attractions on land. What a great idea! The best part (besides the fact that we drove right off the street and into the water without even getting out of our seats) was hearing all the interesting facts and history about San Diego from our tour guide. I never knew how important the marine industry was to the city.

Next time you’re in town, make it a point to have your own “James Bond” experience! The San Diego Seals Tour was a lot of fun and great way to spend some time seeing the sights in the city and in the bay.

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