Seal

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="44.188728" lon="-70.677795" zoom="13" width="275" height="325" scale="yes"> 6#B2758BC5 (B) 44.200728, -70.680971, Seal Rock Where the Seal usually starts. 44.195067, -70.681143 44.190759, -70.679941 44.184543, -70.675735 44.179619, -70.67153 44.17414, -70.668697 6#B2FF0000 (A) 44.191436, -70.675049, Birch Rock Camp Where it all starts and finishes. 44.19119, -70.676594 44.194513, -70.678997 44.198328, -70.679512 44.198205, -70.678825 44.198697, -70.679512 44.200759, -70.680542 44.200759, -70.680842 6#B20CFF00 (C) 44.173955, -70.668697, Waziyatah Where Seals usually end. 44.176695, -70.668869 44.179373, -70.670414 44.181004, -70.671229 44.185928, -70.674105 44.190297, -70.677023 44.191067, -70.676594 44.191344, -70.674963 </googlemap> The red part is traveled in a row boat, the blue part the camper swims for his Seal, and the green part is rowed. This is a interactive map so you can move the window around and zoom in and out.

The seal is a long distance swim that consists of swimming the length of the lake. It is more than two times as long as the loon, being more or less two miles long. It is also almost never done in lower camp, and sometimes even senior campers do not get to do it. A camper needs to show real swimming skill to be allowed to swim the seal. Seals are often swum by a camper the year before his senior camper year, this usually means that he will swim his whale next summer.

Swimming a Seal

A camper is sometimes woken up before the morning bell to swim his seal. At flag pole the whole camp may be able to see the row boat out in the middle of the lake with a tiny head bobbing behind it. Most of the time he starts his seal on the aptly named seal rock, a submerged rock at one end of the lake. The camper and two counselors row out to the rock to start. Seal rock is about ten feet tall and goes up to less than a foot below the surface. The camper then gets out of the boat and stands on the rock from which he will dive. The counselors in the boat count down and the camper dives into the water. Seals take anywhere from one to two hours. The actually distance of the seal may vary depending on how straight the boat goes for the camper to follow. After the camper gets to Wazyatah the counselors row him back to camp. At the next meal the camper will get a standing Birch Rock cheer and at the end of the summer, a Seal badge. The campers name will also be put up on the plaques for the year under 'seals' along with his time.

There is a lot of variation when it comes to how a camper swims his seal. He may swim from seal rock to Waziata (the camp at the other end of the lake) or in the opposite direction. He may swim early in the morning or in the afternoon. It could be just him swimming or a whole group.

Facts

Jean Hard was the first person from Birch Rock to do a Seal.

See also

• Duck
• Loon
• Whale
• Long distance swims