Jet Ski.jpg

Bobby Moghadas and his 9-year-old stepson sit on a jet ski. The two found themselves in the Willamette when a sea lion flipped their jet ski over on Saturday.

(Courtesy Bobby Moghadas)

When Bobby Moghadas and his 9-year-old stepson went out to Willamette Falls near Oregon City to take advantage of the warm, sunny Saturday evening, they weren't expecting to fall in.

As Moghadas, an Oregon City resident, tested out his two-seater Yamaha jet ski, he saw several sea lions under the Abernethy Bridge, gorging themselves on salmon.

"I've been on the Willamette many times, but never seen them out there," he said. "They were huge. They almost looked like black bears."

The area has seen a big increase in sea lions in recent years, and the predators have the ability to wipe out salmon runs at the Falls, a traditional tribal fishing site, the Clackamas Review reported last June.

Moghadas brought his stepson aboard the jet ski around 6 p.m. Wearing life jackets, the two spent the next hour or so following the marine mammals, trying to get a good look at them.

It was shortly before sunset, and Moghadas had turned the engine off to avoid scaring the sea lions. He and his stepson were floating, when the boy felt something, Moghadas said.

"He asked me, 'Woah, what was that?' And then: boom!" Moghadas recounted.

In a split second he and his stepson were in the chilly water, the jet ski upside down beside them.

A fisherman quickly pulled them out, and said he saw the sea lion tip over the jet ski, Moghadas said.

Paramedics and police were also called, but Moghadas and his stepson were uninjured.

Moghadas even said he's eager to return to the falls next weekend. But since the sea lion damaged his jet ski, he might have to bring out his three-seater, he said.

"It's bigger, better," he said. "Maybe they won't tip it over."

Moghadas said he's not worried about hurting the sea lions, because "they're smart," and because jet skis don't have propellers.

The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits harassment of sea lions, including any act that could injure the animals.

(An Australian couple recently learned the hard way not to chase sharks with a jet ski.)

And as sea lion numbers grow, there might be more instances of sea lions bumping up against the locals.

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum