Category: Bimini 2011

On Sunday we departed on another Bimini Undersea dolphin trip with a full boat of passengers all eager to get a glimpse of our underwater friends!  We were glad to see the water was especially blue and

Saturday’s trip with Bimini Undersea began at 15:51 after a loud and wet thunderstorm passed over Bimini. Luckily for us, the weather cleared up just in time and the remainder of the day was a beautiful Bimini day! At 16:47 our boat captain thought she saw some splashing typical of dolphins, but when we got closer we couldn’t find them. However, 10 minutes later we saw something strange in the distance and went to check it out.

Friday was double duty once again with the DCP team split between two boats. Kel headed out first and the small group of humans was thoroughly enjoying the flat seas and endless sunshine. The first dolphins to greet us were young and included, we think, ID#094. The two were not physically interacting much, but possible-ID#094 did appear a bit agitated. This is understandably so as she had a small, but fresh wound on her left side. Since they were not interested in swimming with us, we continued on.

As the interns headed out to sea on Thursday they were amazed by the calm, beautiful blue water!  It was almost completely flat and glass-like in some areas making it a perfect day to spot dolphins from afar!  We sighted a group of about seven bottlenose dolphins early in our trip very close to shore but we moved on quickly as they didn’t appear interested in a swim.  Not long after we sighted a second group of bottlenose, and though we attempted to get in the water with them, they swam off as soon as they noticed our presence.  As

Today was another day of split up boat trips. Alexis and Brittany headed out at 13:06 and within 20 minutes saw a group of about 10 eagle rays swimming by! After we watched them for a bit we moved on to 3 Sisters for our snorkel swim.

The interns departed on Tuesday at 1530hrs excited and eager to encounter more dolphins!  We sighted a group of about nine spotted dolphins at around 1700hrs who were very much on the move and swimming fast back toward Bimini.  There were at least two calves in the group and we were even able to spot Trudy (#57), Split Jaw (#22), and Romeo (#10)!  The group was pretty rambunctious;

Monday was a DCP filled day! It started out early with a talk with the Bimini Undersea’s passengers. We discussed what DCP’s research entails and answered many great questions from the curious passengers. Thank you all! After our talk it was time for dolphin trips and we had two trips as our trips were again split up.

With a few successful dolphin trips under their belt, the interns headed out on Sunday with Bimini Undersea to find more dolphins!  We sighted a group of about six bottlenose dolphins early on and close to Bimini’s shores, and attempted to get in the water with them, but although they most likely were crater feeding, they weren’t too interested in having a swim with us. Shortly after we found a pair of spotted dolphins hanging out and playfully swimming around!  As we jumped in the pair was very interactive and didn’t mind getting up close and personal with us, and

As the weather cleared this afternoon and the sun began to shine, the interns headed out on their second boat trip with high hopes of getting their first swim with dolphins!

Today we (Brittany and Alexis) arrived in Bimini. We were greeted with a little bit of rain as we landed in the airport on South Bimini, but a few showers couldn’t stop us! After getting our luggage and clearing customs we headed over to North Bimini where we were met by Kel. We eventually got settled in and found out we had our first boat trip! We left at 15:35 with some overcast skies, but were almost immediately greeted by a small group of bottlenose dolphins (at least 3) once we got out of the channel.