On Thursday, I headed to the Sea Crest to chat with this week’s Bimini Adventures guests during their yummy lunch. They have had a great week exploring Bimini and observing the dolphins and it was nice to share DCP’s work with them, answer their questions and hear their experiences. Soon enough, it was time to wrap up so we could all get ready for the boat trip!
We departed in a stiff breeze so we not surprised to see large swells and plentiful white caps as we approached the tip of the island. Still, everyone stayed optimistic and eagerly searched for dolphins. Suddenly, a single bottlenose dolphin approached the bow, surfing its way past us. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone…
After plenty more searching, and a little snack, we saw our first group of Atlantic spotted dolphins for the day! There were six to seven spotteds, including Romeo (#10) and her calf, Stefran (#82) and her calf and, possibly, Niecey (#48). This group was cruising fast and then split apart, so while we observed them from the boat for half an hour, we did not swim with them. Later, we came upon at least six spotted dolphins, including Swoosh (#36), who the group had also seen earlier in the week. While the passengers hopped into the murky water, I stayed aboard to make some more surface observations. Our third spotted group of the day included Lil’ Jess (#35),Split Jaw (#22) and Niecey (#48)+. We were able to have two separate swims with this group. It was so fun to see Lil’ Jess and Split Jaw exchanging lots of pec rubs!
Back in the lee of Bimini, we cruised home, everyone reflecting on the great day.
Until next time,
Kel