On Thursday, I (Ellyne) joined Bimini Adventures for what was likely my final dolphin trip! We set out to sea in the sunshine on the clear water. As we moved down the coastline a breeze aided in cooling us down and made ripples in the waves. We soon saw a small turtle poke its head out of the water.
Within the first forty minutes we came across two spotted dolphins! They swam towards us and soon we could see 10 spotteds near the boat including un-named #102.
On Wednesday there was sunshine, clouds and a nice breeze as we started our boat trip with the Bimini Adventures. One of the guests asked if we might see spotted dolphins as she hasn’t had a close underwater view yet. We jokingly asked Captain Audley to round up a group of spotteds today.
Tuesday was a busy day for the DCP’s Bimini team. As Kali did her final island exploration, packed her bags and began her journey home, Kel continued her duties at the computer to help keep the Bimini research chugging away. Ellyne was on her own, with Bimini Adventures of course, on a beautiful day with small ripple waves and lots of sunshine with some puffy clouds in the sky. The aquamarine layers in the water were very distinct with lighter aqua water to deeper blue water. We started the boat trip heading towards “Three Sisters” for a snorkel.
On Monday morning, we began our day with a beach cleanup at the southern tip of North Bimini. We filled numerous bags of garbage left on the beach, hopefully preventing going into the ocean. We were so happy to remove the trash, giving back in just a small way to the island that is so welcoming to us.
On Sunday, Kali, Ellyne, and Kel returned to Bimini Adventures’ group to join the search for dolphins. After a week of little to no wind it finally started to pick up making the ride much cooler. Yet, it was a beautiful day to be out, the tides were generally calm and the ocean varied in shades of blue.
On Friday the clouds started to roll in but the strong August sun was still out and shining. This week’s Bimini Adventures group had their last day out on the boat today. We followed a similar route as earlier this week, as we typically do, to help make ourselves predictable for the dolphins. The sea was calm but no dorsal fins could be detected. We kept searching for several hours and decided to take a refreshing swim break. It was a warm day in the sun and the water was clear and delightful.
On Wednesday we were excited to be back on the boat after a very rewarding day yesterday with so many spotted dolphins. Today the clouds rolled in, but the sea was mainly calm. We started our journey with high hopes of finding the dolphins soon as we had yesterday. As we headed north no dorsal fins were in view.
It wasn’t until we started heading back to shore, three hours into the boat trip, that we saw two spotted dolphins come to the boat.
Thursday was an educational day for the Bimini Adventures group. Kel, Kali, and Ellyne led a discussion about dolphins and the research conducted in Bimini. We gave a brief introduction to ourselves and DCP’s research off Bimini, but the majority of the time was spent answering questions that the guests had for us. One person asked if spotted dolphins keep their spots or if individual spots can change over time (A: As a spot first develops, it may grow bigger, but after it is established it will remain forever.
On Tuesday, Kali and Ellyne set out again with the Bimini Adventures group visiting from Switzerland, as Kel returned to Bimini and caught up on paperwork. This group has given Kali the opportunity to brush up on her French skills. C’est bonne! We cruised merrily along in our search for dolphins. Some of the guests visiting have been coming to Bimini for years so they hoped to see dolphins they had seen in past years.
On Monday the interns were happy to be back on the boat after a week of data work on land and now that the storms have passed. It was an international group today with Bimini Adventures from Switzerland and Japan. We started on our journey with light waves; unfortunately some of the passengers got seasick.
After an hour of searching we saw 2 sub-adult spotted dolphins swim by and surfing the waves. As we entered the water we observed them playing with seaweed with their rostrums and pectoral fins.