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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.

Thursday was the final day of this dolphin week and it was a good one! Storm clouds were looming the entire day and although we saw bottlenose dolphins early in the trip, we had to be patient for the spotteds. About mid-trip, we saw ten Atlantic spotted dolphins surfing our way! Most did not stick around, but they did come in and out of view. Three youngsters were around for quite awhile, including Addie (#84) and un-named #95. Unfortunately, another youngster came to the bow with a fresh injury behind its right eye.

Wednesday was a busy day with a double header of dolphin trips. And we weren’t able to avoid rain during either one! Our morning trip had us in full search mode, wondering if the dolphins would show up. We have so few morning trips, that we never know what to expect (well, even more so than afternoon trips!). But, finally, we did see them! Speedy (#78) and Tilly (#87) were definitely there and I think Tim (#69) and Joanne (#86) may have been as well.

Monday’s dolphin trip began with a turtle sighting and a glimpse of (three?) bottlenose dolphins. Then there was a lot of searching….and searching…and searching. Close to home, late in the day, when all hope was lost, we saw them! Three youngsters, including un-named #93 came rushing to the boat.  Thirteen minutes into the sighting, the mother-load arrived! There were over 20 dolphins in total, but since many did not come close to my spot on the boat, I was only able to ID Addie (#84) and Tilly (#87).

Sunday’s dolphin trip departed Sea Crest Hotel & Marina shortly after 1500. The visiting researcher and her students were ready for Bimini’s dolphins. They didn’t have to wait too long as a large group of Atlantic spotted dolphins passed by the boat at 1644. At first we only saw three dolphins, including Tina (#14) and someone’s calf. But, soon, there were at least 14 dolphins, all traveling south. Included in the group were Tilly (#87), Swoosh (#36) and at least five calves.

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.

Bimini Undersea departed Bimini harbor shortly after 1530 today with two wonderful passengers. Such a small group is rare on the boat and with beautiful weather, we were excited about the trip ahead. We searched and searched for dolphins, wondering how long they would make us wait. Thankfully, they didn’t hide the entire afternoon and we saw a group of four bottlenose dolphins. At first they seemed on the move, then they seemed quite active (as seen in this photo), then we thought they might be crater feeding. We prepared to enter the water, but the dolphins were gone.

We departed the Sea Crest Hotel & Marina shortly after 1500 on Saturday, with storm clouds on the horizon. Although they did not damper our spirits, they did force us somewhat off course in our search for dolphins. We got a bit a rain, but thankfully the thunder and lightning stayed far away. Late in the day we got a glimpse of six spotted dolphins, including un-named #40. In total there were three adults and three calves – likely a trio of mother/calf pairs. Two bottlenose dolphins (including Tt06) joined the group, but they did not stay long.