Sea lion leaps into outrigger canoe during Monterey race, stunning crew
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- A sea lion vaulted into a women's outrigger canoe during the Monterey race on May 23.
- Crew were startled but uninjured, and the sea lion slipped back into the bay.
- Outrigger Santa Cruz stayed upright, kept rhythm, and finished third despite the incident.
A sea lion made an unexpected cameo during a Memorial Day weekend outrigger canoe race in Monterey, briefly vaulting into a women’s boat and startling paddlers before slipping back into the bay — all captured on dramatic 360-degree video by Alan Luckow.
Luckow, a participant in the Monterey Hoe Wa’a race, said he lent his 360 camera to the crew on May 23. The footage shows the marine mammal surfacing alongside the canoe, mouth open and teeth visible, then hopping aboard for a few seconds. No one was hurt and the animal quickly returned to the water, according to Luckow.
“During the race, they were startled by a sea lion that apparently wanted to be part of the team. Unfortunately there are only six spots in an outrigger canoe,” Luckow told Storyful.
The video was obtained from The Sacramento Bee’s content provider VideoElephant via Fox-KTVU.
The team, Outrigger Santa Cruz, stayed upright despite the surprise weight shift, Luckow told KTVU, noting the paddler in front — the stroker — kept her rhythm and helped prevent a tip. Outrigger Santa Cruz went on to place third, which Luckow called an impressive finish given the mid-race interruption. The team later shared the clip on Instagram with the caption, “So this happened.
