Join Captain Dave and his loyal first mate Larry the lobster on a magical nighttime adventure in Nanoose Bay, where they discover the incredible world of bioluminescent ocean creatures! This captivating educational story teaches Vancouver Island children about marine biology through wonder and discovery.
Perfect for Vancouver Island families, this glowing sea creatures story combines science education with storytelling magic. Kids learn about real bioluminescent marine life found in local waters between Parksville and Nanaimo, making it ideal for young ocean enthusiasts on Vancouver Island.
NEW! Download and print coloring pages featuring Peter & Gracie’s Weather Station Adventure! https://bit.ly/S2EP04ColouringPages
“Send us a text about this episode!”
You can also voice message Skookum Kids Stories and be a part of the podcast!
Listen on All Your Favorite Platforms
Find Skookum Kids Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and YouTube Podcasts. Also available at SkookumKids.com.
Support Our Show – Help us create more magical Vancouver Island ocean stories for kids!
Special Thanks to Our Sponsor Ian Lindsay & Associates – Find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca.
More Vancouver Island Podcasts
Don’t miss The PULSE Podcast featuring local stories and community updates. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Tik Tok and YouTube Podcasts. Visit PULSECommunity.ca for more Vancouver Island content.
Stay Connected with Vancouver Island’s Best Family Content
Sign up for our weekly newsletter featuring the latest Vancouver Island podcast episodes, ocean education resources, and exclusive contests perfect for Parksville-Qualicum Beach families!
Like, Share & Listen!
#SkookumKidsStories, #ThePulseCommunity, #PulsePodcast, #ParksvilleQualicumBeach, #MellowSubmarine, #CaptainDave, #PodcastForKids, #NanooseBay
Transcription:
Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island’s most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, and recreational investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You’ll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca.
Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: In a little town by the sea where the stories never end, lived Captain Dave and his crew, every child’s favorite friend. With a smile as wide as the ocean and a heart that’s full of dreams, he sails a mellow submarine where magic gleams and beams. Every morning at sunrise, when the world awakes anew, Captain Dave and his crew set sail in waters deep and blue. Through the ticking clock of time, where adventures come alive, they laugh and learn and play each day in their underwater dive.
Dave Graham: Captain Dave loved his submarine more than anything in the whole wide ocean. It wasn’t like other submarines that were big and noisy and fast. No, Captain Dave’s submarine was round and yellow and moved through the water as gently as a bubble floating on a breeze.
He called it the Mellow Submarine, and it was the cosiest submarine in all the ocean. The Mellow Submarine had big round windows that looked out in every direction. Inside there were soft cushion seats, a little kitchen, and even a cosy sleeping area with twinkling string lights. The walls were decorated with pictures of all the sea creatures they had met on their adventures.
Captain Dave had curly brown hair that stuck out from under his captain’s hat, and he always wore his favourite blue jacket, the one with shiny gold buttons. But the best thing about Captain Dave was his smile. It was the kind of smile that made everyone feel welcome and happy.
“Good morning, Larry,” Captain Dave called out as the sun rose over Nanoose Bay, painting the water pink and gold.
“Good morning, Captain,” replied First Mate Larry the lobster cheerfully. Larry was bright red with long antennae that wiggled when he was thinking. He wore a tiny sailor’s cap between his eyestalks, and he took his job as first mate very seriously. Every day, Captain Dave and Larry explored the waters around Nanoose Bay.
They had seen purple starfish clinging to rocks, watched kelp forests sway like underwater trees, discovered hidden caves decorated with pink sea anemones, and even said hello to a friendly seal named Sophie, who liked to swim alongside their submarine. But today was different. Today, Captain Dave had noticed something unusual.
“Larry,” said Captain Dave, stroking his chin thoughtfully, “have you noticed anything strange lately?”
“Yes,” said Larry, pointing one of his claws toward the deeper water. “I’ve seen lights out there at night. Strange glowing lights.”
“Yes, exactly,” said Captain Dave, his eyes lighting up. “Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I looked out the porthole and saw something glowing in the dark water. Like tiny stars, but underwater. Blue and green and silver lights dancing and swirling all around. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Larry’s antennae wiggled with excitement. “Ooh, a mystery! I love mysteries.”
“Tonight,” Captain Dave announced, “we are going on a special nighttime expedition. We are going to find out what’s making those mysterious lights.”
“Yes!” squeaked Larry enthusiastically. “I’ll make a list of everything we need.”
All day long, Captain Dave and Larry prepared for their adventure. They checked the submarine’s batteries twice to make sure they had plenty of power. They packed cheese sandwiches and apple slices for dinner, along with Larry’s favourite seaweed snacks. They made sure all the lights on the Mellow Submarine were working perfectly. Larry even polished the big round windows until they sparkled. Captain Dave filled their thermos with hot cocoa, because nighttime adventures were always better with something warm to drink.
“We need to be prepared, but we also need to be respectful,” Captain Dave told Larry as they worked. “Whatever’s making those lights is sharing something special with us. We must be very quiet and gentle.”
“I’ll be as quiet as a clam,” promised Larry.
As the sun began to set over Nanoose Bay, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange, pink, and purple, Captain Dave steered the Mellow Submarine out into the deeper water. They waved goodbye to Sophie the seal, who was settling down on her favourite rock.
The water changed from bright blue to deep blue to navy blue, and finally to almost black as they went further from shore. Above them, the first stars began to appear. A half moon rose over the trees on the distant shore, casting a silver path across the water surface.
“Are you ready, Larry?” asked Captain Dave, his hand hovering over the light switches.
“Ready!” said Larry, giving a thumbs up with one claw.
Captain Dave took a deep breath and turned off all the lights inside the submarine. Every single one. At first, everything was completely dark. They couldn’t see anything at all. They waited quietly in the darkness, listening to the gentle hum of the submarine’s motor and the soft swoosh of water moving past their windows.
They waited one minute, then two minutes, then three. Then, slowly, they saw it. A tiny blue light flickered in the darkness. Then another, and another. Soon there were dozens of lights all around them, twinkling like the stars in the sky above. But these stars were underwater.
More lights appeared every second: blue ones, green ones, silvery ones that sparkled and shimmered.
“Wow,” whispered Captain Dave.
“It’s beautiful,” whispered Larry, pressing his face against the window, his antennae quivering with wonder.
The lights seemed to be moving, dancing through the water in swirling patterns. Some blinked on and off like little signals. Some glowed steadily like tiny lanterns.
“We need to get closer,” said Captain Dave softly, “but we must be very careful not to scare whatever’s making those beautiful lights.”
“I agree,” whispered Larry. “Let’s go slowly. Very slowly and gently.”
Captain Dave steered the Mellow Submarine toward the dancing lights. As they got closer, they began to see shapes in the darkness, mysterious forms that appeared and disappeared as the lights blinked. The first thing they saw made Larry gasp.
It was a jellyfish, but not like any jellyfish they’d seen before. This one was glowing. Its bell-shaped body pulsed with soft blue light, and its long tentacles sparkled as it drifted gracefully by their window.
“It’s beautiful,” breathed Captain Dave.
“Look at all of them!” said Larry excitedly.
As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they saw that the water was full of glowing creatures. Small fish swam past with lights dotting their sides like tiny buttons. A squid zoomed by, its body flashing with patterns of light and leaving a trail of glowing sparkles. Something that looked like a string of pearls floated past, but when Captain Dave looked closely, he saw it was a line of small creatures, each one glowing with its own light.
There were creatures everywhere: little ones no bigger than Captain Dave’s thumb and bigger ones the size of Larry himself. The water looked like a snow globe full of living, glowing snowflakes.
“This is amazing,” said Larry, “but Captain, what makes them glow?”
“I don’t know,” said Captain Dave, “but I have an idea.”
Very carefully, he opened a small hatch at the bottom of the submarine. This hatch was usually used to collect water samples, but tonight, Captain Dave thought they might be able to talk to some of their glowing neighbours.
A small glowing fish swam up to the opening. It had a tiny light at the end of a little antenna that stuck up from its head, like a fishing pole with a lantern on the end.
“Hello there,” said Captain Dave in his friendliest voice. “My name is Captain Dave, and this is First Mate Larry. We’ve been watching your wonderful light show. Can you tell us why you glow?”
The little fish’s light blinked on and off, and to Captain Dave’s surprise, the fish answered in a high, squeaky voice.
“Hello, Captain. Hello, First Mate Larry. I’m a lantern fish, and this is my light.”
The fish wiggled its glowing antenna proudly.
“I use it to see in the deep, dark water, but it’s also useful for finding my friends.”
As if to prove it, another lantern fish swam up, blinking its light in a pattern: blink, blink, blink. The first lantern fish blinked back: blink, blink.
“You’re talking to each other with your lights!” exclaimed Larry. “That’s so cool!”
“That’s right,” said the lantern fish. “My friend just said hello to me, and I said hello back. We can tell each other where food is, warn each other about danger, even just chat about our day. But everyone down here glows for different reasons.”
Just then, a beautiful jellyfish floated past. Unlike the lantern fish’s bright light, the jellyfish gave off a soft, gentle glow.
“Excuse me, Miss Jellyfish,” said Larry politely. “Why do you glow?”
The jellyfish pulsed its bell gently. “I glow to scare away things that might want to eat me,” it said in a voice as soft as silk. “When something gets too close, I flash my lights very bright, and it surprises them. Then I can float safely away.”
“How clever,” said Captain Dave.
“Wow,” said Larry. “That’s really smart.”
More and more glowing creatures came to visit the Mellow Submarine. There were tiny glowing shrimp that sparkled like fireworks, a strange fish with lights along its sides that blinked in waves, and even a small octopus that could make different parts of its body glow different colours: blue on one tentacle, green on another.
An old, wise-looking fish with glowing stripes explained, “We make light with special cells in our bodies. Like having tiny light bulbs inside us.”
“That’s incredible,” said Captain Dave.
“But why do so many of you come to Nanoose Bay?” asked Larry.
“This is one of our favourite gathering places,” said the old fish. “The water here is just the right depth, and it’s protected from strong currents. Every night, hundreds of us rise up from the deeper water. Some of us come to hunt for food, some come to meet friends and family, and some just come to enjoy the company of others who glow. It’s like a nightly celebration.”
“Look up, Captain,” said Larry, tugging on Captain Dave’s sleeve.
Through the submarine’s top window, they could see the moon shining down through the water, and all around them the glowing creatures were dancing and swirling, creating spirals and patterns, putting on the most beautiful show Captain Dave and Larry had ever seen.
“It’s like an underwater fireworks display,” whispered Captain Dave, “but better, because it’s alive.”
The lantern fish swam back to the hatch. “Thank you for visiting us, Captain Dave and First Mate Larry. Not many people get to see our light dance. Most submarines are too loud and fast and scary, but your Mellow Submarine is perfect. You came quietly and gently, and you asked us questions and listened to our answers instead of just taking pictures and zooming away.”
Captain Dave felt warm and happy inside. “Thank you for sharing your world with us,” he said. “This has been the most magical night of my life.”
“Mine too,” added Larry enthusiastically.
“We would love to come back and visit again, if that’s okay,” asked Captain Dave.
“We’d like that very much,” said all the glowing creatures together.
As Captain Dave prepared to pilot the Mellow Submarine back to shore, something wonderful happened. All the glowing creatures began to swim together in a big spiral, their lights creating a swirling galaxy of blue and green and silver. Round and round they swam, creating a tornado of living light. It was their way of saying goodbye.
“Goodbye, friends!” called Larry, waving both claws high.
“Goodbye!” called the creatures. “Come back soon!”
“We will!” promised Captain Dave and Larry together.
As the Mellow Submarine gently puttered back toward the harbour, Captain Dave and Larry sat in comfortable, happy silence. The moon had risen higher now, casting a silver path across the water. Captain Dave steered the submarine along that moonlit path, thinking about everything they had seen.
“You know, Larry,” said Captain Dave after a while, “I think we learned something very important tonight.”
“What’s that, Captain?” asked Larry.
“We learned that even in the darkest places, there can be light and beauty and friendship. And we learned that sometimes the best way to understand something magical is to approach it gently, with respect and curiosity. We asked questions instead of making assumptions. We listened instead of interrupting. And because we were patient and kind, we got to see something that most people never see in their whole lives.”
“That’s true,” said Larry thoughtfully. “And we made new friends too.”
“Yes, we did,” agreed Captain Dave with a smile.
When they reached the harbour and tied up the Mellow Submarine for the night, Captain Dave looked back out at the dark water of Nanoose Bay. He could not see the glowing creatures, but he knew they were out there, dancing and blinking their lights in the deep water.
“Sweet dreams, Larry,” said Captain Dave, climbing into his cosy bunk.
“Sweet dreams, Captain,” said Larry, settling into his special hammock that was perfectly sized for a lobster.
And as they both drifted off to sleep, they dreamed of friendly glowing fish having conversations with lights, sparkling jellyfish doing their light shows, and magical lights dancing in the dark waters of Nanoose Bay.
They knew that tomorrow would bring new adventures, but tonight’s discovery would always be special, because Captain Dave and First Mate Larry had learned that the ocean was even more wonderful and mysterious than they had ever imagined. And the best part was, there were still so many more adventures waiting for them in their Mellow Submarine.
But for now, they slept peacefully, the Mellow Submarine rocking gently in the harbour, while out in Nanoose Bay, the lights continued to dance.
Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: When the night falls softly, and stars light up the sky, Captain Dave tucks his crew in with a gentle lullaby. Dreams of whales and mermaids, of treasures lush and green, await each little sailor aboard the mellow submarine.
Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX, Vancouver Island’s most advanced real estate business network, since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, and recreational investment and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You’ll find true real estate professionals at IanLindsay.ca.
