Bimini Undersea’s Thursday dolphin trip departed Bimini harbor shortly after 1530 (once again). We were expecting, unfortunately, less than comfortable seas,
but remained optimistic about dolphins. As we traveled along Bimini’s coastline, the following seas kept the ride smooth. Before reaching “the dolphin grounds,” one of the day’s passengers requested a short swim break. All the passengers hopped in to cool off and Captain Kat and I stayed onboard, of course joking that it would be so nice if the dolphins came right then. We laughed it off and kept our eyes on the snorkelers. All of a sudden, I saw a dorsal fin! I grabbed Kat’s arm, we assessed what was going on and realized that we were surrounded by Atlantic spotted dolphins! Unsure of how fast the dolphins were moving, we told the guests to stay in the water and look down! I readied myself and the MVA and joined them. It was so cool! This is one of the only times that I’ve seen a swim break morph into a dolphin swim!
On the first water entry we saw un-named #40, Lone Star (#56) and Stefran (#82), each with her own calf, and Speedy (#78). Back on the boat, it seemed a second group of dolphins, including Addie (#84) and Tilly (#87) was just behind the first, also traveling south. We watched them from the boat and soon all the dolphins were together – at least two dozen! Sometimes they were difficult to see in the sunlight, as you can see in this photo. On our second water entry, it was mostly a boys’ club with Split Jaw (#22), Prince William (#64), Tim (#69), Speedy (#78) and un-named #89 and #95. The only female I could confirm was Stefran (#82), but perhaps I’ll recognize more when reviewing the video. We had a third underwater encounter with many of the same males. During the two latter encounters there was lots of interesting socio-sexual behavior and vocalizations. It will be very interesting video to review!
A big thanks to today’s eager boat passengers – and thanks for wanting that swim break!
Until next time,
Kel