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Report # 12 The weather improved much for us this past week. On Monday we still had wind out of the Southwest at 7-10 knots and waves 3-4 feet, but a shift in wind direction from Southwest to Southeast allowed for winds to drop to less than 3 knots and wave height to be no more than 1 foot for the rest of the week. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were still present in the afternoons. A total of 6 survey trips were conducted this week and only one resulted in no sighting.

Lots of Data, even with iffy weather conditions. We ran the weather spectrum (so to speak) for this trip to observe and record the behavior and signal exchange of Atlantic spotted dolphins. We had flat calm, glassy seas with little current to swells of 3-5 feet with a chop and 30 mph winds. But, we still gathered a good amount of data! We had 36 sightings total – 34 of which were dolphins and 2 were turtle and shark sightings. 24 sightings were of spotted dolphins and 10 were bottlenose dolphins.

Report # 11 Seven trips had been scheduled for this week but two had to be cancelled due to bad weather conditions. A trough has brought us much rain and wind this past week; this is still the case as I am writing this report. Wind direction was out of the southwest and wind speeds remained between 7-15 knots causing wave height to range between 2-5 feet for this week. Of the five survey trips, two resulted in no sightings. Tuesday's afternoon trip was initiated at noon since severe thunderstorms were expected in the afternoon.

Choppy seas in deeper water. On our radar screen, we can see the storm clouds and measure the length and width (in miles) of each storm – large and small. The squalls around us were small and moving away. The faint lines near the deeper water were not so cooperative. They indicated that our return trip to port would be a bit bumpy. So, we held watches till late morning and then headed in to port. But, before that, we took the dinghy over to Sandy Caye.

Observing a dolphin, and a few turtles, nurse sharks. We woke to similar conditions – a two foot swell and windy weather. A low pressure system was moving our way and the sea and skies were predicted to get a bit worse. So, we hauled anchor early in the day and motored towards the sugar wreck. On our way we saw a single adult spotted dolphin. It had the tip of the right side of its fluke missing. Looked like a new scar. Maybe we will see this individual again to confirm identification.

28 Years ago today they split from the CommonWealth. The sea and wind conditions did not worsen from yesterday, but they did not improve either. The sun did grace us with its presence, though. A warm sunny day. One that began with a few bottlenose dolphin sightings. A nice way to begin any day. Even when these dolphins seemed to be either traveling or feeding and not interested in bowriding or any interaction. We did see a group of 6 spotted dolphins in the early afternoon who were mildly interested in swimmers.

Choppy Seas and No Sun all Day. Our winds gusted to 15 mph today giving us a bit of whitecaps to the sea surface. There was also a bit of a swell (~2 feet). And lots of rain off and on throughout the day. The rain would not have been a problem for our in water observations … we'd be wet anyway! But, the dolphins were not interested in us today. We saw several groups … which stayed just on the edge of our visibility, both above water and below the surface.

Hot, Hot, Hot – with dolphins aplenty! Our day began with a several sightings of bottlenose dolphins. The individuals and groups were easy to see since we had glass calm seas and great visibility. We had 8 encounters today and observed several dolphins that we could readily identify. Leftpec (#115) is an adult female with a distinct noth out of the leading edge of her left pectoral fin. We saw her and a group of calves several times today. We also sawm with and recorded a group of 6-7 adult females, two of which appeared pregnant.

Report # 10 We had another tropical wave pass this week; although it was not as severe as the one we had last week, some survey trips were cancelled due to severe thunderstorms. Strong easterly winds, ranging between 8-15 knots, were present during three of the five survey trips conducted this week. Three of the five survey trips this week were conducted during the morning (8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.). Monday's survey trip resulted in no sightings.

Leaving port tonight. Eight guests joined us this week. The weather was great and we anchored just north of Sandy Caye for the evening. It was great to see the stars this evening. The seas were flat and the temperature warm. The forecast called for fair skies and seas for the week. We will start early tomorrow and hopefully see dolphins. Wish us luck.