Begin with bottlenose, then with spotteds.
It was an amazing day! I felt as though the dolphins were welcoming me home. I know that sounds corny and quite non-scientific, but that is what I felt. We saw our first dolphins of the day at about 10:30 AM … bottlenose riding the bow. Then a group of 9 to 12 spotted dolphins at 10:48. They were playful and bowriding as we donned our snorkel gear. The swells were a bit high and we had to take care getting into the water and then returning to the boat. No array with this entry. On our second entry/encounter we saw 3 adults and one subadult, #103 or Echo. He was brief in his greeting today. Maybe he'll be more playful next time, like last year. We also saw 3 tuna (small though) swimming near the dolphins. There was much rubbing and affectionate behavior observed. On our 4th encounter, we actually got called from the water prematurely – a Tiger Shark was sighted near the bow. It was about 6 feet long and seemed to leave quickly. Not sure why. But we did not see it again the rest of the day. Thank goodness! On our last set of encounters, we saw two mother/calf pairs and 2 juveniles. They swam with us for a total of about 40 minutes. We witnessed the dolphins, especially the youngsters, terrorizing two small file fish. The fish seemed stunned while the dolphins seemed to be having a grand time. Sometimes their smile seems mischievous. Many photos were taken and data collected. A great day. We were all tired when shower-time rolled around. Till tomorrow. Cheers Kathleen