Because of the storm, father and son van Hooff set out for an adventure on the beach at Wijk aan Zee last weekend. To their great surprise, they found a sick seal amongst the driftwood and wreckage.
When I heard the weather report last weekend, I heard there was the possibility of a south westerly storm. On Saturday, this was not the case; however, there were huge gusts of wind blowing down bicycles, blowing large branches off trees and lifting tiles. This kind of weather excites me and my father very much, making our blood flow faster and our heart pump more ferociously, because it means there is an adventure to be had out on the beach.
That Saturday evening we researched the predictions again. The wind-force was force 8, the tide would reach its highest point at 5 AM and sun up would be at 7:15 AM. At 7:15, still in the dark, we fought our way to the beach. It was a struggle, because there were gale-force winds, almost literally sandblasting us.
Arriving at the beach, we could see what havoc the wind had caused. The beach was covered in foam. In between large bunches of seaweed there were dozens of jellyfish - still bright blue. The moon gave us light for the first kilometre. We saw that the tide had not retreated yet, because the waves came leaping right up to the dunes and we frequently had to jump aside.
When it was light we saw that lots had washed ashore: Bottles, plastic, beakers, crates and even a set of speakers. Every so often I would glance to the left and if I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn that the huge waves would wash over us and devour us. Just after Heemskerk, we passed one of the inlets in the dunes that are visible here and there.
At the same time, my father and I saw a dead seal. The animal had been washed to where the water had come in the night, about three metres behind the fence. We could clearly see by its tracks that the seal had crept the last bit by itself and had popped under the fence to the spot where it was lying on its back now. When we got closer, the seal suddenly lifted its head. The animal gave us a fright, because we thought it was dead.
We backed away not to stress the animal and called the rescue services immediately, because something had to be done whatever way you looked at it. We were immediately called back by seal first-aid team Velsen and Lenie ‘t Hart from the SRRC foundation in Pieterburen, to make an accurate assessment of the situation. The police kept in contact too because the place we had found the animal was not accessible by normal car.
While we observed the seal, we saw it had a bloody mouth and that every now and then it would screw up its eyes. The animal was having a hard time after the blusterous night. Despite that, the seal was keeping a close eye on us. Subconsciously, we felt a responsibility for the animal and we wanted to get it away from this place in a pleasant way. I did not want any onlookers or stray dogs and such to cause distress.
A half hour after we called, the Kennemerland police force arrived in their pickup to see how things were progressing. After quick deliberation it was decided to catch the seal and place it in the back of the wagon.
A short but vigorous drive brought us back to Wijk aan Zee, where the seal was immediately taken care of by the Velsen’ seal first-aiders. The seal, which my father and I had named after my fiancée Anny whom I shall marry next year on the same beach, was placed in a large basket, its temperature was taken and it was given a couple of bottles of fluid. After Anny had quietened down in her basket, we were informed that the animal was about ten weeks pregnant and a severe lungworm sufferer. Anny was then taken to the SRRC in Pieterburen. The last we heard of her is that she is doing well considering the circumstances.
10-07-2009 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
