Before we left the dock today the boat captain warned us that today would likely be a surface observation-only day – it looked to be too rough to get in the water. So, we looked for dolphins for about an hour & a half, then anchored close to shore for the next hour & a half. While the guests snorkeled, we stayed on the lookout for passing dolphins. None came, but we cruised north for a bit longer before turning south & heading home. Then, just when we were nearly ready to write the day off, the dolphins appeared off the bow. We were losing light, so we quickly hopped in the water. We’ll have some ID’ing to do when we review the video, but we definitely saw Cerra (#38) and un-named #86. About 15 minutes into the swim, the dolphins swam off & the captain called us back to the boat – which was good timing, since Kel was covered in mystery stings! Just one of the hazards of dolphin research….
More tomorrow,
Kel, Tabby & Adam