'Seal Bomb' Scare Brings FBI to Golden Gate Bridge
Reaction to 'non-event' just another sign of the paranoid times
By Sean Holstege, STAFF WRITER An overzealous fisherman under the Golden Gate Bridge has drawn the watchful eye of the FBI and the attention of the governor.
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard, the California Highway Patrol and FBI were alerted to reports of loud explosions under the landmark bridge, first at 8:30 a.m. and again two hours later.
It turned out the explosions came from "seal bombs" -- large, M-80-style firecrackers that some fishermen use to scare away seals from their catch. An M-80 has the destructive force of an eighth of a stick of dynamite. The seal bombs apparently worked, because the FBI got law enforcement reports that seals were seen "swimming away like hell." Unfortunately for the owner of a 16-foot Boston Whaler-type vessel, what's powerful enough to scare seals is also powerful enough to attract counter-terrorism officials from as far away as Nevada.
The CHP sent air patrols over the area in response to reports from the Joint Terrorism Task Force of "an explosive device in the water off the bridge," while the Coast Guard cleared the scene by boat and reported "it was nothing," as Coast Guard officials later described it.......
What the heck?
They didn't catch the "seal bomb" guy by the Golden Gate Bridge???
It is reassuring to know the authorities were on top of this.
I worked fixing the electronics on tuna seiners in San Diego from 1977 to 1980. The water-proof seal bombs were part of the standard equipment on the boat. There were accidents with damaged hands on a regular basis from crew members who didn't toss them fast enough.
Innovation to the rescue! I was working down at the 10th avenue terminal when a vendor showed up to demonstrate a new product to the captain. It was a seal bomb that is launched from a flare gun. No more blown off fingers. The vendor stepped out on the deck, loaded the seal bomb into the gun and fired. The bomb flew in a nice arc. Just as it hit the water, a brown pelican swooped down and picked it up. Boom! A flash of feathers. No more brown pelican.