Former professional soccer player Joshua Phillips caught some video footage that will come in handy when a very unlucky boat owner needs to explain to the insurance company why his or her vessel sank last year.
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Phillips, who now owns a fly fishing equipment business, was out on the Eld Inlet near Olympia, Washingon one day in mid-December 2019 when he saw something that made him do a double-take.
Two GIANT sea lions had commandeered a sailboat and were taking a pleasure cruise.
So rude!
Phillips told The Olympian that he saw the boat “looked a little off” as it went by before he realized what was happening.
Luckily, he had his phone nearby and managed to get some footage of the theft. His video has now been viewed by millions, most of whom find it hilarious since it’s not their boat!
(Ok, we have to admit that we cracked a smile as well, with all apologies to the boat owners!)
Over one million people viewed it in its first week on the Spawn Fly Fish Instagram page alone!
The video shows the boat drifting by with the two absolute units happily sunning themselves on the deck.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
And those two were not alone – a third sea lion tried to board, but didn’t fit.
According to The Seattle Times:
“The Olympian reported that another video, posted on YouTube, showed a third sea lion trying to board and being turned away by the two who were already there. When two enormous sea lions are already dipping one end of the boat dangerously close to the water’s surface, three’s a crowd.”
The two creatures who made it aboard took their cruise without a care in the world, even shooting a “what are you lookin’ at” stink-eye at Phillips as he filmed.
And, it’s not like you’re going to mess with a sea lion in this situation – the best you can do is keep your distance and keep filming.
As it turns out the thick thieves were just too much for the vessel to handle as well.
They ended up sinking the boat in the inlet.
And we highly doubt they cared about the damage they caused and the cost incurred by the owner. After all, there are other boats in the sea.
While this seems like a wild, weird, unique occurrence, people living near sea lion populations were not surprised at the bad, blubbery behavior. Apparently, these creatures are quite the water hazard!
In fact, there are plenty of photos online of the creatures using private boats as personal playgrounds!
According to those living in the area, the boat in question here was a total loss.
Luckily, the video serves as evidence of what really happened – we just hope the owners had “sea lion insurance.”
To be honest, we didn’t even realize sea lions could get so big! But apparently, some of them can weight up to 2000 pounds (though most weigh in at about 200lbs and measure roughly 6 feet long).
That’s still bigger than we would have guessed!
There’s no word on what became of the sea lions after their voyage, but we’re guessing that sinking a boat isn’t really a deterrent to further mischief.
However, we do think residents of Eld Inlet will be more vigilant when they see the slippery pirates near a boat in the future.
Be sure to scroll down to see these two in action.
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