and a tiger shark.
Today began with a few dolphins sightings … they were leaping high out of the water and speeding by our bow at about 250 meters from us. Feeding, or so it seemed. Several dolphins engaged in this behavior for about 1-2 hours and paid little mind to us. I was snorkeling with a passenger over a little navigational aid (*see P.S.) that wrecked several years ago when we saw three dolphins.
Actually, we heard them first … many clicks and a few whistles and then we saw #103, Echo come by. He swam around both of us and then returned the way he came. And not 30 seconds later he returned with two juvenile females – one from the day before and one we'd not seen yet this summer. Just amazing and so close. They circled us close once and then continued on their merry way. We were not part of their agenda.
A few hours later as we were hauling anchor to move a bit south, we met a group of about 20 spotted dolphins and one bottlenose dolphin. And within this group was a VERY young calf … likely born this week. We'd heard about it from one of the other boats frequenting the area. So cute … but we only saw it from the surface. The dolphins did not want much to do with us in the water. Maybe because of the new calf but a second reason could be the tiger shark that a near boat alerted us to – a very real threat to the dolphins as well as any human swimmers.
We anchored this afternoon on the Sugar Wreck (a brage that sank in the 1920's carrying molasses and sugar). We saw many types of fishes and a turtle and barracuda. The skeleton of the hull is still visible and rings with the sounds of an active ship … at least to my imagination.
Well, time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is our last day at sea for this trip. I truly appreciate the patience all of you have with the bulk posting of these updates.
Cheers and more tomorrow.
Kathleen
P.S. The navigational aid is nicknamed the dolphin wreck and sits in about 6 meters of water. It is home to many fish and a few rays as well as being a favorite haunt to the dolphins.