Sunday, November 20, 2016

Dolphin Days

Hi All, A cold front has indeed moved in. The sun however, is shining which makes a huge difference. Just like everyday this week, bright and early the water is pretty flat as we come out of Leeward Cut. We turn down the coast passing all the resorts without seeing a dorsal. As we swing around to come back the wind is starting to kick up. I decide, no dorsals, lets go out the South side where it will be flat. I know, more than likely we won't see any dolphins but I'm dying to be warm and not bounced around. After a brief visit to the wreck, we decide to head all the way up the back or south side to the channel between Fort George Cay and Dellis Cay. We haven't gone that way for quite awhile and hope the channel hasn't moved. The water is so shallow I pretty much hold my breath the whole way! If one looses heart and slows down, thereby having your boat come off the plane, you can count on remaining there until the next high tide! We make it in the cut without incident. It's the perfect place to have lunch. We are surrounded by beautiful turquoise water and pristine beaches. After lunch, we start heading back down the North or front side. I'm looking out by the reef where we have seen dolphins before. I see a dorsal. As soon as we locate the dorsal amongst the fairly large waves a little dorsal pops up right in front of our boat. Of course it's Whizzer! How lucky are we, to find them miles away from where we found them yesterday! When I get in I notice a cut on his right side which obviously isn't bothering him. By the time I get my gear on, he has gone down to Bo who is crater fishing. There are lots of Sea Biscuits on the ocean floor.I always think I'll come back and dive for some but the reality is we can never figure out just where we were! Eventually Bo and Whizzer move off through the big waves and we loose sight of them. We head back along the coast were the water is flatter. Just as we are about to get to Half Moon Beach which is almost at the end of Pine Cay, we see JoJo. We pass over him and he gets in our wake. He takes a ride past Leeward Cut then past most of the resorts. He branches and swims a little way toward the reef where he turns around and surfs a wave coming in. This is a form of dolphin fun. They just don't need a surf board. He spends quite a bit of time swimming out then surfing back. This is not a good time to swim with him because you can't keep up! I get my chance later when he comes over to our boat. We are now in front of Beaches Resort where there is a lot of boat traffic. Even with John looking out for me, I look up frequently to be sure I'm not going to be run over by a tour boat! I didn't think we were going to have a good dolphin day but it turned out to be a great dolphin day. Everyday I hope to see Raggedy Ann. She is Bo's best friend and JoJo's most favorite lady dolphin. She lost her calf two summers ago. I saw her last with Bo, Whizzer and JoJo a year ago. I hope she is okay and that she'll show up with JoJo one day. https://vimeo.com/192395465 The whole story!

Bo Whizzer and JoJo. from Jay Sargent on Vimeo.

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