A Great Send Off

Hi All,
The past few days we either didn't see JoJo or I didn't have much interaction with him when I did. The last time we saw, JoJo he was with another dolphin and didn't seem to want me with them. My theory is that it was RA and she was depressed from loosing her calf and needed cheering up from JoJo without a slow human tagging along.
Today, JoJo came right over to the boat to bring me to the others. I had a few short swims because another boat kept putting swimmers in the water. Every time they did, the dolphins sped up and I'd loose them. Whizzer still got in a few "drive-bys". As we made our way toward Pine Cay, the boats finally stopped. As we got opposite The Meridian Club which is at the end of the island, I got in again. The water was very murky as it always is there. I got a long swim with all four dolphins. Our usual formation is Ra, Bo with Whizzer swimming  under her belly and me by her side. JoJo usually is behind or off to the side. JoJo occasionally helped redirect me if I couldn't see where everyone was! I swam with them from The Meridian Club to the beginning of Fort George where the waves got the better of me. It was a great send off.
video https://vimeo.com/150300186

New Dolphin at Leeward'

Hi All,
The wind is still pretty strong here on the island but not too strong to ruin anyone's vacation. It isn't either too strong to prohibit swimming with dolphins! We see a boat behaving like they are with  a dolphin as we approach Leeward. As we pull up we see two dolphins. I get in and JoJo stays around the boat. I swim toward the other dolphin and JoJo comes then heads back to the boat. HMMM is he done swimming with that dolphin or doesn't he care whether I meet that dolphin or not. I continue toward the new dolphin wanting to know who it is. The dolphin is as big as JoJo with some scrap marks before is fluke. These are known as rack marks probably from a shark. I don't think I've ever met him and he doesn't seem to care that I'm watching him. https://vimeo.com/150097442

Once the unfamiliar dolphin moves off I go back to the boat and JoJo. He and I go for a swim heading out toward the reef. We encounter a big ray as you'll see in the video. The camera battery warning signal goes off indicating he battery is dying. Notice JoJo looking back at the noise.
For some reason the internet is not working to up load this video so I will have to send the JoJo and Ray video once it cooperates! https://vimeo.com/150205538

Holiday Get Together

Hi All,
I've been commenting that we haven't seen any other dolphins since we have been down here except for the lone dolphin on the South Side. Usually we either see a lone dolphin around Pine Cay or get lucky and see a get together of JoJo's family. This is to say nothing of not having seen Whizzer for quite a few days.
We head out of leeward with spectacular sunshine glistening off the wavy water. There has been more rain then we have ever seen in December and we are thrilled to have brilliant sun over head.
We're off on our usual pattern looking for dorsals. Just as we arrive opposite the Meridian Club on Pine Cay, I see a lone dorsal. It's JoJo's distinctive dorsal with a little notch out of it. He seems interested in taking a ride and gets behind our boat. We take him all the way to Parrot Cay where he's wanted to go before. I get in the water there but he clearly wants a ride back toward Pine Cay. In the video you will see how clear the water is and how he followed me for a short distance.
As we arrive once again opposite Meridian Club on Pine Cay, we see two boats acting as we call it, "dolphin like". This means moving around slowly with people looking in the water. JoJo branches off and we start seeing three dolphins cavorting! This seems to be a happy greeting as we see dolphins hurtling through the air. Soon, they approach the boat and stay near. They seem to want me to join them. Unfortunately, when I get in the water it is so murky, I can't see any thing under water. I wait until I hear a loud "Pffff" as they surface and swim over. I try to stay with them but it is so murky I can't even see the flippers on my feet. I keep losing track of them but they keep swimming back to me. At times I am wondering where are they and "Pffff " they surface right beside me. It can be a little startling to have three seven foot dolphins pop up beside you with no warning! I recognize Lemon Lips not only because he keeps coming right to me with JoJo but I am able to see his slightly slanting dorsal and the little notch out of his fluke. Lemon Lips is Bo's calf that I met in 2012. He and Whizzer are brothers!! They both like interacting with me!! I can't identify the other dolphin but she's definitely a love interest. There is a lot of sexual activity with intermittent quiet swimming.  JoJo I'm proud to say is clearly joining in on the activities. This leads me to believe he may be the dad of all these calves. The dolphins, having none of the  hangups we humans have, seemed quite content to have me right there as they hold their orgy. At times, I need to back off as they are quite exuberant.
If this wasn't enough, at least three more dolphins show up. Despite my lack of vision under water I hear a distinctive whistle as a shape goes whizzing by!! It's Whizzer! Now, I'm swimming with at least six dolphins . How is that for a Xmas present?!
We had found JoJo at 10am. It's now after three. All the scooter batteries are dead, we have so much footage to go through and I'm happy but beat. Its time to go home. I now know why JoJo was milling around Pine Cay. There was a planned meeting of all these dolphins.
The video will not do justice to the event but you'll get the idea! I'm having a great deal of trouble publishing so I have made two videos hope this works!!
https://vimeo.com/149924029
https://vimeo.com/149958729

He's back

Hi All,
The wind has come up on Provo making boating a challenge. We hadn't seen JoJo since the 14th and it always makes me anxious not seeing him for a long time.  If I have people come down to meet JoJo, I usually tell them to allow five days and I'm pretty sure we will find him.
We found JoJo swimming in the opposite direction close to the shore near Half Moon Beach on Pine Cay. We turned around to accommodate his desire to go toward Grace Bay. JoJo got behind our boat and stayed there for almost 40 minutes until we got Smith's Reef at the mouth of Turtle Cove. He branched off to fish. Funnily enough the day before John and I had been snorkeling there. As we had returned to the boat after swimming with a big eagle ray and lots of other reef fish, I had been wondering why I don't see the dolphins fish in the reefs more often.  Seems to me it would be like having a buffet! I know they like Bar Jacks and there are plenty of them as well as countless others. We couldn't go into the reef because of the many reef heads close to the surface. We tried to monitor JoJo's location but the wind and waves made it very difficult. Ultimately, we decided to move to the North end of the reef and wait for him. Unfortunately, we never found him again. It was a short visit but I was very glad to see him and know that he seemed to be fine.

Where are They??

Hi all,
I keep hearing people are seeing dolphins but we keep missing them. As always, I need JoJo's help! I however have a clip of Whizzer nibbling on Bo's pec which I thought was interesting. Someone asked me if they teeth. I'm not sure but I'll find out. I have never seen a calf nibble on his mom's pec before but Whizzer seems pretty special! https://vimeo.com/148771815
Jay

A brief Visit from Whizzer

Hi All,
I haven't been able to find JoJo for three days which is always alarming. However yesterday I spotted Whizzer out in front of Beaches. He came right over to the boat and swam around it hoping I'd get in to play. I believe he was with Bo but never got close enough to see whether it was Raggedy Ann or Bo. I got a brief swim with him then it appeared his Mom called him because he rushed off to find her. He came back to the boat a few times but kept rushing back to her. She was traveling quickly and we eventually lost them.  https://vimeo.com/149270226 Please copy and paste to see video.

Scooter Replacement

Hi All,
The first full day on island, it rained all morning and we only got out for a few hours in the afternoon. But, what an amazing few hours they were! I said to John I had more interesting things happen with the dolphins in that one afternoon than most people have in a lifetime. I published a blog about it the past Sunday with the video about Dolphin Love. I figured I didn't think I'd need my usual two water scooters and two cameras so I only took one of each. How wrong I was! I swam with the dolphins for so long I completely exhausted the battery on the scooter and almost killed the batteries in the camera.  ( I also lost a brand new flipper!). When the scooter died, John thought I should try being towed behind the boat to see if I could keep up with the dolphins and to see if they would stay near me. Because my camera is in mask, I have to turn my head to get video of the dolphins that are traveling at my side. This I have to do without having water come in my mask or pushing it off as I'm getting towed through the water. Managed to do it all and the results are below.
The first video is really short showing JoJo looking at me as I start getting pulled through the water. He joined right in beside me.  https://vimeo.com/148930345
The second video shows Whizzer coming up then going off with the others as they travel along to my right. Toward the end, Whizzer came to visit again. At the very end look closely and you will see a nurse shark close to the bottom.  https://vimeo.com/149000574
please copy and paste to see video

Whizzer and his Many Sitters

Hi All,
The sun finally came out. For the first time since we arrived, we weren't racing back to the marina to beat the rain, thunder and lightening, (or not!). With the good weather comes the tour boats. We still got some quality "alone time" with the dolphins in between visits by various boats. One captain who I'd never seen before tried to tell John it wasn't JoJo. Made me laugh!
We found JoJo and Raggedy Ann with Whizzer right outside of Ocean Club. Raggedy Ann was fishing and Whizzer was copying her. She nosed around some seaweed, he nosed around some  seaweed. She checked out some branching coral, he followed suit. They were moving pretty swiftly and I only got the chance to catch up when she dove down to hunt or crater fish. A tour boat came by and I lost sight of everyone. Then JoJo showed up and I got to spend some time with him. He was milling around not really going anywhere but sonaring a lot. I can always tell when he sonars because he swings his head from side to side. I figured he was trying to locate Whizzer and sure enough, Bo and Whizzer showed up. At that point, JoJo and Bo left and I got to hang with Whizzer who kept darting around giving me his signature whistle. (I think I was relegated to baby sitting!) When I made this video clip I didn't put it to music so you could hear his whistle. Every time you see bubbles come out his blow hole he is whistling. When a dolphin gives a signature whistle, (a whistle that is very distinct and one used by that dolphin only) it is said to be their name. Toward the end of the clip, Bo must have called him because he pumps his tail and goes like the wind without returning.
https://vimeo.com/148962445 please cut and paste! JoJo RA and Whizzer
https://vimeo.com/148943082 Whizzer leap please cut and paste
https://vimeo.com/148948836 Whizzer giving signature whistle

Dolphin Love

Hi All,
Now that I have the sad news out of the way, I can share the amazing love these dolphins have for their calves. First, I'm now quite sure Whizzer is Bo's. This video pretty much confirms it. I also saw him nurse from her yesterday. Not only that but her other calf Lemon Lips, also had the yellow tinge on his lips and behaved like a wild man just like Whizzer.
 We had battled thunder storms and lightening all morning and even given up for a few hours. We did take JoJo for a bouncing ride toward Pine Cay which ultimately got us soaked and bounced around before going in. A few hours later, it was still raining a little but we were dying to go out so we went back to the boat. It had rained all the day before and I hadn't seen a dolphin since arriving. Paradise does have it's storms!
We found all four dolphins on Grace Bay. The dolphins seemed glad to have me back. They came right over to the boat as I was racing around getting flippers, mask and scooter ready to go. When I got in, JoJo came right over and brought me to Whizzer who was with Bo and Raggedy Ann who stayed off a short distance. You will see in this video such love for this rambunctious little calf who is snuggling, caressing, bumping on occasion and pec nibbling both Bo and JoJo. There are also moments where he includes me by circling at speed sometimes upside down. Remember Bo has the perfect fluke and JoJo has many scars. My heart did go out for Raggedy Ann who lost her calf. The video may take awhile to load. I just couldn't cut anything. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/148760188/9e0b59942d

Sad Confirmation

Hi All,
I am back on Island after a trip home to take care of my horse business. I've had this news since Thanksgiving Day but couldn't face opening up the pictures. I mentioned last summer that the two ladies were both looking very pregnant. When I got here in November, I met Whizzer who I've seen with both moms together and one at a time. I was so hoping to meet the other calf but feared the worst as time went on.
Thanksgiving Day I was invited to a feast at a good friend's house where I met a boat captain from Beaches. We started talking about JoJo and he said JoJo got rough with him when he swam with him. It made him a bit nervous seeing JoJo is 7 feet and so strong. He no longer tries to swim with him. JoJo by the way has never displayed any of this behavior toward me. He then mentioned that he had  seen two dolphins with a dead calf. They were of course the two ladies, Bo and Raggedy Ann. I have read that dolphins will keep their dead calves up on their rostrums (noses) for up to three days with hopes that they will live. It is normal that when a calf is born that the mother or aunt will help it up to get its first breath. I imagine this was a still born calf. He said the bigger dolphin came and rammed the boat when they got close. She was of course trying to keep them away. I imagine that was Raggedy Ann since she's by far the larger of the two dolphins. This truly makes my heart break for the mom who lost her calf. If anyone didn't think animals have empathy, this will certainly change their mind.
I am now trying to figure out whether Whizzer is nursing from both moms or just his. They would both have milk at the same time. I haven't seen him take milk from either so far. He did nuzzle Bo when all three were all together.
I have included some pics of the mom holding her dead calf up on her rostrum and the other lady staying right with her. These photos are courtesy of Rick the boat captain.

On a happier note Jill my good friend said she saw JoJo yesterday. I hope to find him and of course Whizzer today.

JoJo, Whizzer and Jay Wish You All a Very Happy Thanksgiving

https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146962120/2b6b8e40fc
https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146967251/3463011b79 

JoJo and Zyzz

Hi All,

The other day when we were out, we saw a boat with the pod of dolphins. That was the day I got the great footage of the whole family. The boat that was with them belongs to a family that owns a house along the marina where we keep Spy Hop. They were trying to swim with the dolphins but not getting very close. They had their dog Zyzz in the water and got some footage of JoJo swimming with him!
I offered to take Mark one of the sons and owner of Zyzz out on Spy Hop. I was hoping to get more footage of Zyzz and JoJo from in the water.
We went out yesterday but didn't find the dolphins. There was a huge and nasty front coming our way. We saw a black bank of clouds descending on us and beat hasty retreat to the marina. We arrived moments before the heavens opened. The ocean turned into a churning mess as it continued to pour all day and all night! I hope you enjoy their video of Zyzz and JoJo. BTW Zyzz is a long backed spaniel with a great personality. He was quivering with excitement the whole boat ride! I have promised both Mark and Zyzz that we will try again until we have a good JoJo swim.https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146898294/b6981cc243 the first try didn't load correctly so this should work!

French Cay

Hi All,
We get to the dock early, not wanting to miss a minute of this gorgeous day. As we are leaving Leeward, I see a dark shape coming under the boat. It is a big Eagle Ray. The water is so clear I can see the pretty pattern covering his body that helps distinguish him form a Southern Ray. On the other side of the boat I see two more smaller Eagle Rays that are flanking our boat. The sun is sparkling on the water, making it look like little stars dancing on the water. We travel up and down Grace Bay but don't see any dorsals. I decide it would be a perfect day to go to French Cay. We turn back through Leeward and head out across the Southside. French Cay is a very small island that is a bird sanctuary. To get there one must cross the South Bank which has very shallow water in most parts. It takes about an hour going full tilt boogie. Once you are totally out of sight of land you start to see a little shape forming on the horizon which is French Cay. The snorkeling is crystal clear around the island. If you travel past the island you leave the shallow bank and are quickly in vey deep water. I am hoping to see some cetaceans in the deep water, but we don't. We decide to travel another hour heading west which takes us to another nice place to snorkel outside of West Caicos.
It is now time to head back. John starts back, once again full tilt boogie as I keep looking for dorsals. I'm feeling lucky I've spent so much time with JoJo and his pod seeing there doesn't seem to be many dolphins around. John slows down abruptly. He has spotted a dorsal. I get in hoping to get interaction. The dolphin comes right up to take a look. You will see in the video that not only does he come up to look at me but, he does some very vigorous crater fishing!https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146750993/6573abf994

Whizzer comes to Visit me

Hi All
What a great way to start the day! Whizzer and his mom were out in front of Ocean Club bright and early this am. Whizzer was happy to have a friend while his mom was off fishing.
 https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146509164/269960c5d7 


JoJo came by later but didn't seem interested in catching up to Whizzer and his Mom (or aunt). Shortly there after the weather got grey and nasty and we headed home.

JoJo Calf sits Whizzer

Hi All,

The day kept getting better! Both females went off to fish. They left JoJo in charge of calf sitting. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146481384/4f33dc1ba7

Whizzer and Pod

Hi All,
We had such a great dolphin day I barely know where to start! I think I'll cut to the chase and tell you about swimming with the pod.  https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146457792/fabef562f7
The video opens up with JoJo because he helps make all of this happen. You will see two dolphins swimming close the one closest is Bo she has a perfect fluke. The dolphin beside her is Raggedy Ann who has a ragged left side of her fluke. Whizzer is flying around going in-between all of us me included! JoJo as always takes a position slightly farther back. His rostrum is white on the end. Whizzer makes a lot of contact with Bo (nuzzles). I only wish he would suckle with RA or Bo so I could be SURE who is the Mom.  Whizzer seemed to get more rambunctious as we went. Apparently  he jumped clear over me! I'm hoping a boat near by got footage. You will notice toward the end of the video he comes right at me and BONK we collided head on! He went back to the others for a short time then came right back neither of us were any the worse for wear. At the very end as the others move off and I'm getting left behind JoJo comes by. JoJo likes me to be with the others and he likes to be behind me.  Making me part of the pod until I can't keep up.

JoJo's Mouth Must feel Better

Hi All,
Although JoJo is still opening his mouth more than usual, I'm quite sure he feels pretty good.
Our fabulous dolphin day started with JoJo swimming right toward our boat as we were approaching Ocean Club. He knows we are back in town and ready to take him wherever he wants! When he hears our boat motor, he comes swimming.
The first mission after flipping over, swimming under our boat and getting in the wake, was to go up to Parrot Cay. I got a good opportunity to check out his mouth and behavior when we stopped our progress along Parrot Cay because it got so shallow. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146163115/db804bb206
You will see he still he has his mouth open but there is no agitated behavior.
JoJo came back to the boat and was agreeable to our turning around and heading back past Pine Cay toward Grace Bay. He stayed with us until we were approaching Smith's Reef where he peeled off. This is where we found RA, Bo and Whizzer a few days ago. Pretty soon John spotted more dorsals and I got in. There I found JoJo following a substantial nurse shark!!! This is activity I've seen many times before. Dolphins like to harass nurse sharks. JoJo did not elect to goose the shark (sort of glad about that) but he did "get in his face" or butt in this case.
)https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146160565/d8e5d4219f 

While JoJo and I were tailing the nurse shark, the others had moved off.  We found them and the fun began. Apparently RA is comfortable with JoJo and me baby sitting. The two ladies went off leaving Whizzer with us. After JoJo knew Whizzer and I were having fun, he too left. He was never far away because when my scooter ran out of charge, I used a friend's scooter which is very different from mine. JoJo instantly appeared. He looked it over, decided it was ok and left again.
In the rather long video of Whizzer (sorry cutting Whizzer is hard!), you will see a ray on the ocean floor. Notice Whizzer has slightly yellow lips like Lemon Lips had! Whenever you see bubbles coming out his blow hole he is whistling. You can hear it even with the music.
We stayed with the dolphins for over six fabulous hours. My scooter was out of charge; the camera was making all sorts of warning noises telling me either I flooded it or the battery was dead and John was fried to a crisp! Time to head in.https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146227632/c7140b23ee 

A Quick Hello

Hi All,
JoJo caught a ride from us from Leeward into Crystal Bay. When  he branched off, I got a moment to swim with him. His mouth was only slightly open and the remora was still catching a ride! I don't think I was with him enough to determine that his mouth is better but at least for that moment he wasn't opening it like he did before. I wasn't able to get in with him again because we got caught in a torrential downpour and headed for home. I hope to find him today and check out his progress.https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/146095203/98e83b951d 

Whizzer

Hi All,
I don't have much to report on JoJo except he followed our boat yesterday from Leeward to Parrot Cay and back along Pine Cay where he branched off. It was very rough and deep where he left our boat. I didn't think I could see him so I didn't get in. He however  still had his mouth open when he swam near the boat before disappearing into the waves.

I wanted to share some footage, my friend David Stone took from our boat. We were following Whizzer and Bo, when Whizzer spy hopped way out of the water. He wanted to see who was in the boat! I think he wanted to know if I was there! David caught him whizzing over to the boat and going under it while I was trying to get my flippers on to join him. When you see me spinning around it is because Whizzer is circling under me like  whirling dervish. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/145914431/b65f3acc62

JoJo has Sustained an Injury in his Mouth

Hi All,
Yesterday, I noticed JoJo kept opening his mouth which is not his normal behavior. Today, he seemed much more agitated and opened his mouth way more. At one point, he came up to me clicking loudly, opened his mouth and kept it open for me to inspect. Honestly, not being a vet, all I could see was a lot of perfectly spaced teeth! The best I could do was to send pictures of JoJo's mouth to the vet on the island. He has insured me that things didn't look bad and told me to keep monitoring it. Here is a video of JoJo showing me his sore mouth https://vimeo.com/145750862

On a lighter note, JoJo is once again helping with calf sitting duties. This is not normal male dolphin behavior but JoJo is no normal dolphin! Enjoy this video of JoJo and Whizzer.

https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/145748145/59244e3916

JoJo leads Me To Ocean Treasure

Hi All,
It's 12:30 and we are still looking for dorsals with no success. We see a tour group right outside of Leeward where JoJo, Raggedy Ann and Whizzer were yesterday. We head over and find JoJo! He is alone today. He clearly wants a ride and gets right behind our boat. We head all the way to the opposite end of the island where we can see the Northwest Point Resort. At that point, we stop because there are some treacherous reef heads that John didn't think we should negotiate. As soon as we stop, JoJo heads over to the reef to scratch in the finger coral. I slip in and watch. He has the same little skinny fish swimming along his back as yesterday. I believe it's a remora but he isn't attached  at the moment the way remora's cling to their host. I'm not sure how he stayed with JoJo who was in the wake all the way here but, he did! JoJo then heads back, passes under Spy Hop (our boat) and starts scratching up and down the anchor line. On his trip down he notices a bungie cord. He points this out to me, as if to say, I believe this is from your world and doesn't belong here! I dive down and pick it up while he clicks at it. Once that mission is accomplished he heads over to the back of the boat and points at the motor HINT HINT. I get in and we take him all the way back to the very end of Pine Cay. It's now late and we head home.
If you watch the video you will see JoJo is opening his mouth. He regurgitated several times not to worry! I've seen this many times before!Other people may view this video via the Video Review Page: https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/145714573/eeb827a7cf

Who is Whizzer's Mom??

Hi All,
I know you all are waiting to hear about JoJo. We found him with the help of Rock who is Captain of Sail Provo's big sailing catamaran. At the time, we had heard rumor of a pod outside the reef. When Rock came over the radio with a sighting of three dolphins we flew back inside the reef to find them. I was sure it would be JoJo, Raggedy Ann and her calf. Raggedy Ann is JoJo's favorite female dolphin. When we get there, they are traveling fast. The calf is rocketing around making various acrobat leaps out of the water. I get in and see  Raggedy Ann (RA). The calf not only looked like Whizzer but came back to circle me like Whizzer. I make a mental note. I won't know for sure until I see both females and their calves together, if this calf is one and the same.
JoJo comes over to our boat "Spy Hop" and positions himself right at the back where I get in the water. I think he's waiting for me. I get in and he does a brief hello then swims off slowly so I can keep up. He does a little crator fishing then is off to find RA and her calf. I get back on board and they have vanished as only dolphins can do!https://vimeo.com/145576584 This video is of JoJo coming to say hi.

We decide to travel in the direction they are going and where we saw Bo and Whizzer yesterday. After  searching around for quite sometime, I see a dorsal. We are now at the other end of Grace Bay past Beaches where the water is really clear. This makes it good for filming. I slip in and find RA with Whizzer right below her. That is where calves stay when they are swimming with their moms. There is another dolphin who I think is Bo, the dolphin Whizzer was with yesterday. YES this is confusing! Perhaps Bo is the aunt and was taking Whizzer for the afternoon so RA could do some fishing. This is typical behavior for dolphins. Now I'm wondering if something happened to Bo's calf because she was pregnant when I left in June. Maybe the other dolphin isn't Bo and she's with her calf somewhere else. Welcome to the confusing world of dolphins! RA is always easy to tell because of her distinctive fluke. It is ragged on the left side.

The video thanks to the clear water came out great I hope you like it!

Other people may view this video via the Video Review Page: https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/145698700/17dcd33542

Introducing Whizzer

Hi All,
The day has finally come. My husband, John and I  sort through the usual Caribbean hassles (missing car, key not with boat). It all fades away as we head out of Leeward with the sun sparking on the amazing turquoise water. There is a splash as a turtle pops his head up stares at us and quickly submerges into safety. A Needle fish stands vertically in the water and shoots off for a good 50 feet looking like he's riding a Segway at sped across the water.
I have heard from various people that JoJo has been spotted both from boats and from our resort. No one could tell me if either of the ladies have had their calves. We travel around Grace Bay twice then up to Pine Cay but no dorsals. I heard JoJo came by Ocean Club in the afternoon so we head back and travel out in front of all the resorts along Grace Bay. We are about to reach Grace Point when I see a dorsal and a little dorsal!! The calf is cavorting around leaping, spy hopping, splashing about the cutest thing you've ever seen! I can't tell who the mom is until I get in. After a few tries aborted by tour boats and hobby cats, I have success. They come right by and I see it's not Raggedy Ann and am pretty sure it's Bo. She doesn't have a mark which makes it hard to tell. I figure it must be her from her behavior. She's content to have her very young energetic calf come circle me then jet back to her. JoJo is no where to be seen to help with the introductions. This calf has slightly yellow lips and behaves just like Lemon Lips did. I got some video which shows Whizzer as I've named him (or her) darting back to me, circling then whizzing off. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/145469618/577de69657

JoJo from a good friend!

Hi
My good friend, Jeremie Mikhail who I met while keeping JoJo company when he had his very bad injury last winter, sent me this drawing. Jeremie is currently working on a dive boat on the Red Sea

but apparently thinking of JoJo. He drew this picture and sent it to me.
63 days til I see JoJo!! not that I'm counting!!
Jay

fight against dolphinarium

Please read!http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33991679  stand up for JoJo and his friends remaining free.
Jay

A Great Whale Rescue

Occasionally mankind can do something right. However the discarded nets and fishing line is a disgrace.

http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/thanks-from-rescued-whale/?utm_source=ars-arsfan&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_term=080115&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=thanks-from-rescued-whale&origin#jjoeyhzE5J4IqhFS.01

JoJo Entertains the entertainers!

Apparently the Caribbean House Music Evolution rented a boat and went for a cruise. JoJo came by to entertain them!! Nothing gets by JoJo!!

98 days until I get to Provo not that I'm counting!!! 2374.86 hours:))

Jay

Great Whale Resue

Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING Appreciation After Being Freed From Nets

Interesting article about whale and dolphin relationship

Hi
I found this very interesting and would love to se it in person.
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/dolphins-having-whale-time-coast-hawaii
Enjoy
Jay

Day Three PERFECT

Hi All,
We come out of Leeward with Byron Dean at the helm. I'm watching anxiously hoping we will find JoJo early on our last day.
We make one pass up and back from Leeward to Smith Reef. Just as we start back I see a dorsal then another dorsal. JoJo comes right to our boat as he so often does. He heads for the back indicating he wants a ride toward Beaches. I don't think he'll leave the other dolphin but he stays right behind us all the way to Beaches.  He branches off to put on a show for the tourists at Beaches Resort. First he goes right up to the beach so everyone sees him. He then swims around a kayaker and off to a Hobie Cat. Everyone's going nuts yelling "There's JoJo" the king has come:))

Eventually he heads toward the dive boats that are moored off shore. The laughing gulls a summer resident of the Turks and Caicos Islands enjoy their view from the roof. Occasionally one swoops down hoping for a hand out. They have beautiful black heads with beady little eyes.
I'm hoping this will be the opportunity for James my horse friend to get in and meet him. I hop in and swim over to him as we  head out toward the dive boat I see a buoy! I know I can detain him with a game of bang the buoy. Success! JoJo is watching me kick the buoy as he hangs vertically in the water. James catches up and gets some great video of JoJo hanging right beside him!
JoJo tires of the game and heads off toward the reef. I climb in Spy Hop and we follow along. Soon we see another dorsal and I now understand why he wanted to hang around Beaches. He was waiting for this dolphin to catch up, she didn't use the JoJo taxi service! JoJo comes to the boat that's my signal to get in. I head over to the other dolphin who I see take off, pumping her fluke in hot pursuit of a fish. She comes back and crater fishes right below me. She is persistent pushing her rostrum way into the sand then pushing the sand along to see if she can find the fish. She comes up and greets me. I'm sure we have met by how friendly she is. I think it is Julia who had a calf I called Frisky. She has a slight scar on her side which is her only distinguishing mark. She goes back to her crater fishing then comes back to me. The water is crystal clear and if I hadn't broken the camera that is in my mask I would be getting some great footage!!
Off she goes and where is JoJo? Soon we see him leaping out of the wake of a parasail boat! The captain wipes his boat in circles. His passengers are having quite the show as JoJo leaps out of the big wake. Soon he swims off from the parasail boat, my chance has come. We have a long leisurely swim that ends up with some major  scratching in the finger coral. There just isn't anything better than diving down beside JoJo who is looking right at me as we skim along the bottom. JoJo, occasionally rolls lazily in the sand. First scratching one side then the other. https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/132044473/08a7c32927 
Now he wants a ride and we head toward Crystal Bay with JoJo in our wake.  The gauge was closing in on empty so we decided seeing we were near Turtle Cove Marina maybe we'd better fill up.

On our way out of the channel JoJo was waiting! Now he wants to head all the way to Parrot Cay which is miles away and we are glad we have enough fuel!
The time has come to bid JoJo a farewell. I hate leaving so very much but feel privileged to have had three great days with this amazing dolphin. I will be scheming how to get back before November my next scheduled trip.

A Summer Visit With JoJo

Hi All,
After worrying about JoJo, I decided it would be a good thing to come visit him this summer. I didn't think I could make it all the way to November, without at least one visit!
I'm only here for a week. After two days of being grounded due to motor issues, I'm finally out on the water.
I thought before I left in April that Raggedy Ann looked pregnant. Now there is no doubt that she and Bo are pregnant. I have some video of JoJo who has sustained a puncture wound and Raggedy Ann and Bo. Raggedy Ann has the notch out of her fluke and is longer than Bo. Notice they play flipper footsie at the start at the video.
My friend James and I spent the whole day following them as they lazily went from Leeward to Parrot Cay where we left them. You will be able to see how wide Raggedy Ann's stomach looks. I wish I could stay here to be around when she has her calf.  https://vimeo.com/user38911674/review/131993047/fbe7e27111

Jane Goodall Says Sea World Should be Shut Down

http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/28/news/jane-goodall-seaworld/index.html
She is my hero!
I will be making a trip in June to see JoJo. I hope to have lots of posts at that time!
Jay

Last day In Paradise

Hi All,
Of course when the film company was on our boat we couldn't find JoJo, only a lone dolphin fishing.
However, JoJo came through in spades today. We found him pretty early this morning despite the strong winds and waves. He entertained a number of tour boats not only when I was swimming with him but when he was in our wake.  At the entrance to Leeward, I was swimming with him when we started to attract a crowd of boats. I didn't notice Island Vibes boat that came up behind me while I was watching JoJo scratching on some finger coral. Yikes! They hit the gas to reverse and I was in a sea of bubbles. I couldn't see a thing. JoJo was just swimming around among this massive gathering of boats. He seemed more interested in the finger coral than all the people watching. The only boat he seemed interested was Reef Peepers. He did go under their pontoons perhaps looking for a ride. In the hours we spent with him, he took two tours along the swim lines in front of the resorts. He did check out Pine Cay as well where the waves were quite big. The waves were coming from every direction. JoJo was making a serpentine pattern by surfing not only the waves but our wake. He went off to check out a huge yacht while we found a spot out of the wind to warm up and eat lunch. When we motored back, he was ready to take a ride back to Grace Bay! As we motored along, tour boat after tour boat pulled up to watch the famous JoJo. Finally they all left us in peace and JoJo branched off again to swim in front of the resorts. We tried to sneak off but, he kept popping up near us.  I was having a hard time leaving him anyway knowing I won't be back until November.  Finally I just got in so I could have one more long swim with him. We set out away from the swim lines where I didn't think there were any boats or people. However, I nearly got run over by the Club Med snorkel boat. I was diving watching JoJo roll in the sand and when I surfaced there was a throng of people hanging off the railings looking at me. There was also a concerned paddle boarder who was sure I was going to buy the farm.
I wonder if JoJo is hanging around with humans more, because there haven't been many other dolphins inside the reef. I am hoping Raggedy Anne is about to calve and that when she does both her and her calve will stay inside the reef and JoJo will escort them as he has in the past. I only wish I could be here to meet the calf or perhaps calves if Bo is also pregnant.
The time had come to take our boat back to The Shipyard where it will remain in storage until next season. I waved a teary good bye as JoJo swam off toward Club Med. I hear some guests at Ocean Club got the chance to see him as well.
I will do a video from home of our last day I should have it up on Sunday.

JoJo takes me for a swim

Hi All,
After arguing at length with my computer, here's the news from yesterday. It was a totally grey and cold day totally unlike most TCI weather. As we made our way down Grace Bay, I see a gorgeous solitary flamingo coming from across the reef toward land. This has always been a good sign for me. As we approach Leeward, I notice Sea Dancer is out by the reef. JoJo seems to really like that yacht and I figure he's out there. As soon as we approach, JoJo makes a bee line for us! I get in to have a nice swim over the coral. I have my friend, James along and he wants to meet JoJo. After JoJo and I have a nice swim, we turn back toward Spy Hop and James gets a chance to get in and meet him. JoJo indicates he wants a ride by coming to the back of the boat, however we take too long climbing out of the water and Sea Dancer comes by.  JoJo follows them ( you snooze you lose!). We follow as they head down Pine Cay then JoJo branches off and we lose him in the high waves.

https://vimeo.com/123885292

Later that afternoon, I have a scheduled meeting with the crew from Animal Planet. They came to our boat and asked some questions about my relationship with JoJo. We did a segment with Dean and I talking. They were very nice and easy to work with. It would be fun to be included at the end of the program. A sort of, "What JoJo is up to now". They have been out quite a few times with Dean but haven't been able to find JoJo even when I have been calling them telling them where he is! However each time I've called they have already gone back to shore or they weren't filming on the water that day. They are planning to come out with us. I hope we can find JoJo.

JoJo Swimming around Sea Dancer

Hi All,
The weather turned nasty yesterday and we came in early enabling me to catch up so here's what I did.

This clip is from Saturday the day  I swam with JoJo as he circled around and around the big motor yacht Sea Dancer. Toward the end of the clip JoJo was following me to Spy Hop. It's really hard to swim forwards while filming backwards! Please keep that in mind as you watch!

I also spent most of the night with apple to figure out how to get video from camera to iMovie so I could put JoJo leaping to music and here's the result!

There is NO doubt JoJo is healed and Frisky as Ever

Hi All,
The weather has given us a gift! There is almost no wind and the sea is flat. We are heading out of Leeward and starting the search for dorsals when I see a large dark shape in the water. I get in to investigate. I see a rather large gorgeous manta ray in front of me. I swim slowly behind as it slowly flaps it's massive wings up and down. The longer I stay the slower it goes. It knows I'm not a threat and starts to sway back and forth slowly in front of me and I imitate by swerving back and forth behind it. We are doing a sort of underwater dance. Occasionally it turns to look at me with it's big round eyes and Star Trek sort of head. I got to have this dance for a long time until a dive boat came by, curious why we were stopped.

We then start cruising up and down the coast in search of dolphins. Once again we see Tropic birds soaring way above us as we were traveling along beside the cliffs of Pine Cay.

It's now the middle of the day and no dolphins. I see a friend of ours boat (Oscar's boat). They have a film crew on board with Dean Bernal. They are also looking for JoJo. The plan is to do a show with 5 friendships that are out of the ordinary. JoJo is one of them. Dean is the person who originally figured out that JoJo wanted to be friendly with people but didn't want them to touch him. He was the first person to have a long relationship with JoJo. I'm hoping that they will include me as a sort of wrap up of who JoJo is friends with now. We motor over and they ask us if we've seen JoJo. On a perfectly flat day one would think it would be easy to spot a dorsal!

http://youtu.be/c2vpRDLwgzg

I call Flipper Lady to see if she's seen JoJo from her condo that over looks Grace Bay. She hasn't seen any dolphins either. We swing by and pick her up since I know she is obsessed by seeing JoJo. After traveling all over Grace Bay we head back up to Pine Cay and there he is entertaining a big yacht. I get in and have a very long swim with him. I was able to entice him away from this boat and come over to Spy Hop long enough for Flipper Lady to get a short swim with him. When this boat took up their anchor JoJo followed along in their wake and we motored along with them. They were having a Birth Day celebration with champagne and balloons. Not bad to have a dolphin join your B'day party! When they sped up the fun began!!! JoJo came to us and fell in behind us. Then two other boats came by with boat captains I know. When the boats came really close it formed a big wake and JoJo performed some aerial acrobatics. Please ignore all the whooping, clapping and carrying on. We got pretty excited. JoJo of course is the ultimate showman!
please go to U Tube my video was too long!

How Great is This

Hi All,
Another fabulous sunny day in Turks, we are heading out of Leeward with a couple from Ocean Club that would like to meet JoJo. We turn down Grace Bay and I tell them the usual "don't get your hopes up we might not find him".

HERE'S JOJO, he comes swimming up to our boat and right down the center.  He wants a ride to Pine Cay. Off we go with numerous tour boats coming by with their passengers cheering wildly every time he surfaces. JoJo just wanted a ride so he could have breakfast at his favorite fishing spot. After breakfast he wants to go back to Grace Bay and he hails his favorite taxi, Spy Hop to take him there! Now for the best part, we get to Beaches where the water's so amazingly clear and I get to spend some quality time with my buddy. We swim through the finger coral, JoJo taking the opportunity to scratch; we play bang the buoy; we check out a downed wind surfer. If this wasn't enough activity JoJo goes over to the Beaches dive boat and performs a few ariel leaps in their wake.
Now, its time to head back to Pine Cay and off we go. As we head down the coast of Pine Cay, I see two lovely Tropic Birds with their long white tails gliding high above us. These pelagic birds are here to nest in the cliffs and have their babies before heading back to sea for the rest of the year.
JoJo has now gone off and we are traveling back toward Leeward when I see a huge splash out beyond the reef. I keep watching to see if maybe it is just a wave hitting the reef but I don't see any more splashes. The whales have pretty much gone by so what am I seeing? I decide to mention this sighting and we go out to investigate. We head out past the reef and drop our hydrophone in the water. We don't hear a thing. We head back and I'm wondering what could have made that big splash, when I see a spout!! We motor over to where we think the spout came from and again drop the hydrophone in the water. This time as soon as it submerges, we start hearing all sorts of high pitched squeaks, low groans, barks and other unearthly noises. We see more spouts this time. It appears there may be three whales from all the spouts. John gets in and swims over toward them. A mother and calf come right by him. He gets back on the boat elated to have a great whale encounter. As we start to leave them, we see the escort going along the reef to catch up to the mother and calf. It pays to keep your eyes on the water!!
Now our guests maybe a bit crisped but are over the top at having so many adventures in one outing! As we again start back toward Leeward who do we see but JoJo coming along in the other direction. I get in and he's slowly traveling in circles along the bottom. He then regurgitates some fish remains and heads off toward Pine Cay! This behavior doesn't call for alarm, I have seen it many times!

A Great Greeting

Hi All,
As I look down from our plane, I see there are no white caps. I'm thinking, "How long will it take us to get out on that water"! It's early afternoon as we touch down, the temp is 86 and Tina's Taxi is waiting to take us to Ocean Club. We drive along Leeward Highway and I see that the Lignum Vitae trees are all in bloom. They have brilliant blue flowers. We get to our condo, grab the essentials then off to The Shipyard where I drop off John so he can motor around to Blue Haven and pick me up. We're off!
We go out Leeward Channel turn down Grace Bay partially because there is a huge dark cloud but mainly because Flipper Lady has been keeping me updated on dolphin sightings in front of her resort!
We see a dorsal in front of Seven Stars. It isn't JoJo and who ever it is, is darting all over fishing. Then we think we see another dorsal! Whoever they, they are fishing and moving all over. When one settles down, we motor over and I get in to find Raggedy Ann who graciously swims slowly so I can follow along. Zoom!! Who's this flying up to me! JoJo appears so suddenly I didn't see him coming. He gives me perhaps the best greeting ever. All I can think is how can I leave this dolphin for eight months when this trip is over.

He swims off slowly then picks up speed to go find Raggedy Ann (RA). I get back in Spy Hop and John tells me he watched JoJo come flying up to greet me:). Not to be a sap but, it's a pretty great feeling!

We find JoJo and RA and as I get ready to climb back in the water, a tour boat barges in and one of the crew leaps in the water (soft landings are better). Needless to say RA and JoJo disappeared for quite awhile. We are looking around when JoJo surfaces right beside us! RA has had enough of humans and is no where to be seen. JoJo wants my company and I can't wait to join him. Some friends of ours are watching the whole thing from their boat. They have a really nice dog on board. I'm hoping I can make the introduction but I couldn't convince JoJo that he should go to their boat and meet Oscar! We go off for a nice swim over a coral reef where there all lots of fish. I see a really nice ballon fish which I thought you could see in the video clip. Unfortunately, it was behind JoJo and I didn't get it in the frame. You will see how great his gash looks. A true testament to the healing power of dolphins. A para-sail boat has come by to see JoJo. We give them a quick hello as we swim by it . Now we are back at Spy Hop with JoJo right at the stern. It means JoJo would like a ride somewhere. I climb in and off we go with JoJo in our wake. All is right in the world!

JoJo Encounter

Hi All,
I'm a little late getting this out because the internet has been down.
The weatherman had predicted strong winds and choppy seas but as we come out of Leeward, the water looks great. Whenever the wind is from the East the seas tend to get flattened on Grace Bay. I'm really hoping to see JoJo because it's out last day for this trip and because I want some more footage of his gashes. I thought the last time I looked at them three days ago, the big one had a yellowish tinge and I didn't like the looks of that.
We cruise past Beaches looking for JoJo and find him heading towards our boat. Did he find us? It is the time of the morning when all the tour boats are picking up tourists and bringing them to various snorkel sights or beautiful white beaches. As they get near our boat they look to see if JoJo is with us. I usually signal them if he is so they can come by to see the famous JoJo. This morning we have at least 12 boats pull up beside us with people peering out trying to see JoJo. As soon as he surfaces they all gasp ohh and ahh. We see jaws dropping, cameras flashing and everyone pointing. The captains wave a thanks and off they go only to have another one come up. This goes on until the last tour boat has made its way by us.
JoJo decides he would like to do some fishing and branches off at Leeward. He likes to fish in the channel because there is lots of activity with marine life passing through that channel including a multitude of fish. I've seen him chase Bar Jacks there on many occasions. After a half hour of fishing he heads toward Pine Cay and as we pass him, he once again gets in our wake. He wants to go to the end of Pine Cay where the water is pretty rough out by the reef. He branches off and appears to be looking for other dolphins but doesn't find any. We lose sight of him in the big waves and decide to head into the channel between Dellis Cay and Fort George Cay for a little lunch. As we turn in John sees JoJo heading into that channel.  We eat our lunch and watch JoJo getting his.  He's going from one end of the channel to the other fishing. It's great to see he can now comfortably fish without the gashes bothering him. For a long time he was only able to crater fish where he could swim slowly along the bottom finding his prey in the sand. In the channels he's going after bigger swimming fish. We see turtles popping their heads up surprised to see us drifting along near them. There are bone fisherman wading around in the shallows with their flat bottom boats near by. There is one tour boat with tourists who are also watching JoJo fishing. One starts clapping his hands. Hmm, does he think JoJo will come like his dog???
After an hour and a half, JoJo seems to have had his fill and starts heading back toward Grace Bay. We once again drive by and he gets in our wake. We are quite accommodating! As we are motoring along, I signal to a small tour boat that we have JoJo with us and they also come by. The captain gets on his radio and asks that if we stop and if it wouldn't interrupt our encounter could they swim with JoJo. We were planning on stopping where the water is clearest so I could get some footage of his cut. We were hoping JoJo would accommodate us and stay around. I tell the captain to stop with us and when I get out they could come in the water to see JoJo. John stops the boat near Beaches where the water is always clear and I get in. I tell the other boat to drop anchor hoping that will keep JoJo around for them to see him.  JoJo heads right down their anchor line. Because his cuts are healing, just like us they really itch and that anchor line gives him a great opportunity to scratch. I was hoping these people would just watch this wonderful dolphin, however they got very pushy about seeing him. I warned them that if he opened his mouth they would need to back off. You will see in the video how the good free diver with blue swim trunks gets in JoJo's space. At first you can see how excited he is to get great footage with his camera. He then gets more and more aggressive trying to interact with JoJo who just wanted to scratch his itchy cuts. Finally, the swimmer starts traveling down the anchor line like JoJo. I tried to tell them to back off and just watch instead of getting in JoJo's space.  After blue suit goes down the line JoJo has had enough and he and I swim off. You will see in the film clip that his gash is closing and looks very healthy. There is a section of the film that JoJo is following me and I'm trying to swim backwards while filming without having water go down my snorkel! You will also see JoJo have a quick snack as he crater fishes.
JoJo then decides to head back to the tour boat for one last scratch. Most of the snorkelers are back on the boat. JoJo gets a few runs up and down the anchor line before they all get back in the water. I'm asking them again to back off and let him swim to the top of the line without getting in his way. I just don't understand why they can't enjoy watching him without getting in his space. Blue suit is again following him all over with his camera. JoJo stops and stares at him. He was warning this guy to stay off the anchor line. Blue pants persists. He's at the bottom of the line following JoJo and JoJo opens his mouth threatening him. FINALLY blue pants gets the message, puts his camera behind his back and swims away. JoJo had had enough and starts to head away from their boat and pushy people. He waits for me to join him and we left. John came by with Spy Hop and I climbed on as JoJo got in the wake. I was upset that people can't just enjoy the opportunity to watch this amazing dolphin without getting in his personal space.

By the time we got up to Pine Cay, I had stopped fuming and was watching the sun starting to set. We were traveling along by the reef and the water had settled down from the morning. I mentioned to John that on our last day it would be really cool to see a whale breach. Just as I said that, I saw a blow right across the reef from us!!! JoJo in the wake, a whale across the reef! Decisions decisions! We kept to our mantra always stay with JoJo until he branches if at all possible! Now, we had a problem. What if JoJo wants to go way up to North Caicos? The sun's going down and John has to bring Spy Hop back to the Shipyard where it stays when we are away. Solution! We see a big sail boat anchored at the end of Pine Cay. We know JoJo will want to check out this boat if we come close enough to it. As we get near, I yell to the passengers "I'm bringing you a dolphin!" The respond, "Is it JoJo?" we tell them yes as he heads their way! We head back at top speed so John can bring the boat around to the other side of the island where it will stay for three weeks until we return.
I'm hoping people will respect JoJo's space. It worries me he will get the reputation he had years ago of being aggressive and sometimes biting people. He is such a nice, wonderful dolphin that is happy to have people watch him. If they could only understand he wouldn't dream of hurting anyone if they would just respect his space.

Don't Touch The Dolphin

Hi All,
I have been swimming with JoJo for 15 years. People always ask me if I feed him or touch him. I don't do either we are just good friends, and he trusts me.
Apparently yesterday another snorkeler touched JoJo and he bit him. Now, what part of "don't
touch the dolphin" did he not get?? It is never wise to touch a wild animal.
Because JoJo's wounds are still healing healing, he is very itchy. That is making him want to go to the snorkel boats to scratch on their anchor lines. As he's swimming around between runs up and down the line, he cruises by swimmers. The boat captains all tell their people not to touch him. Some people however apparently just can't resist.
When his gashes were new and he was hanging around the swim lines, he must have felt a sense of security as he was resting. A person swam out feeling JoJo was there because being friendly and touched him. That time he slapped them with his tail.
Please heed the warning Don't Touch JoJo!!!! In his way, he is a very friendly and special dolphin but if he opens his mouth he's warning you to stay back. He will swim near if you are lucky. But he doesn't want you to touch him!

Great Day With JoJo

HI All,
The water is perfect the sky is clear all is good with the world! Once again we find JoJo outside the reef but poof he's gone! Andy, the captain of Blue Sands calls over the radio to see if we know where he is. We tell him he was outside the reef. Andy motors out and JoJo goes to his boat! He brings him back inside the reef and a very large dolphin traffic jam ensues! Eventually I maneuver Spy Hop in position and JoJo gets in our wake as I speed off:) John is in the condo on a conference call (work gets in the way). My plan is to pick up John at Ocean Club (OC) when his call is done. Luckily JoJo was cool heading that way.
We see John waving from the water, swing by and he climbs on. Now we have another predicament. Kristen has a plane to catch and needs to be ready to leave by one. JoJo is now following our boat toward Turtle Cove which is a pretty long way from OC. We are hoping he'll follow us if we turn back because time is tight. JoJo who usually has his own agenda follows us as we turn back! We head right to Ocean Club stop and Kristen drops in the water. JoJo has gone ahead. But he stops, turns and  then goes over to her. What a great send off!!! He then leads her back to the boat! Now she's torn, but has to leave. As she turns towards shore, I get in and start swimming with JoJo. He heads out toward the reef which is really far away. I see a tour boat and dive down hoping they won't see us. It works! We are now way out from shore and John is pulling up the anchor which he dropped hoping to keep JoJo around the boat. JoJo and I spot 4 Hobie cats sailing our way. They were pretty surprised to see JoJo and I swimming along all by ourselves half way to the reef!! They kept swinging back as if to see if they really were seeing a girl and dolphin swimming side by side way out from shore.
As JoJo and I are diving, I see many Sea Biscuits lying on the bottom. They look like big coconuts with the markings of sand dollars. If only I could figure out how to find them again.
John eventually gets the anchor up (it was tangled in an abandoned mooring and rope) and is following along pretty far behind. JoJo and I are almost at the reef and he decides he's gone far enough and starts back to Spy Hop.  John again drops anchor with the hope that our guests can climb in the water to watch the famous JoJo. JoJo stays around long enough for a photo shoot, then heads off toward Turtle Cove. I climb back in Spy Hop and as we pass JoJo he slips into our wake and off we go. We not only go to Turtle Cove but to the end Northwest Point at the end of the island!  JoJo then branches off, checks the area  and waits to turn around. Off we go again to the other end of the island and on to Pine Cay.  He branches off again, this time for some fishing. It is now quite late and we must leave. We get a lovely sunset cruise on the way back to the marina. What a great day, with an amazing dolphin for all of us.

A Very Itchy JoJo

Hi All,
The weather's improving and so is the water. Almost back to beautiful, turquoise, flat seas. We are out near Leeward when we see JoJo. We see if he wants to go toward Pine Cay then down Grace Bay but he doesn't want to stay in our wake either direction. He wants to go across the reef!! I have rarely seen him do that in the past few years. One of the boat captains calls us over. JoJo is on their anchor line out past the reef! He is going up and down scratching as my daughter Kristen and I swim over. I hear him whistle as we come up. I wonder if he is a shocked as we are to see each other across the reef!! He takes a side trip with Kristen and I then takes a look at the prop of the tour boat. I think that means he wants to go. We lose sight of him as he moves off.

Hmm, as we are motoring along we get another call this time from Jeremie on the Club Med snorkel boat. He's now itching on their anchor line. His wounds look they are continuing to heal. I think all the scratching means his wounds are healing and just like us they itch.
JoJo follows the snorkel boat back to Club Med then gets in our wake to Pine Cay. He branches off from our wake but once we stop he comes back to Spy Hop. I think he's now swum with Kristen enough that she can swim with him alone. She gets in and he comes right up to her and stays right beside her for a short distance before he goes off on some dolphin business. She's elated of course!

One Month Following Nasty Gash

Hi All,
It seems the weather is nasty everywhere this winter. Turks is usually beautiful in February. However we are getting front after front of wind and rain. I'm hoping today is the last of the latest front. Since we can't get out on our boat, it's giving me some time to catch up on video.
The day the front arrived amazingly enough, the weatherman had it right and just at 12 noon the winds picked up and the waves started building. We had JoJo with us all that morning. He wanted to tour the whole length of Provo and Pine Cay then back. Luckily, we were right at Leeward Cut as the winds picked up and we left him in the giant waves to return to our marina. He handles the waves a lot better than we do!
The video I'm posting shows his cuts exactly one month from the day he got them. The healing process is amazing. No stitches, no medication just salt water flowing over them which kept them clean and infection free. The video was taken on Feb 15th. The last front was almost done but there were still big waves as you will see at the end.

I hope tomorrow to get out and find my dolphin friends!

Could Raggedy Ann be Pregnant??

Hi All,
The water on the North side has finally calmed down enough to get out front. Today should be a good day for either whale sightings or dolphin sightings. We start motoring up and down Grace Bay with occasional forays through the cuts in the reef to check for spouts. We aren't seeing anything but really enjoying the perfect water which we know won't last due to a nasty front heading our way on Thursday. Just as we decide to go for a snorkel at Smith's Reef, I see two dorsals. My daughter Kristen is hoping it's JoJo so she can have another amazing swim with him. I get in and Bo and Raggedy Ann (RA) come by. Hmmm Raggedy Ann is looking quite wide. Could it be she is pregnant? Is that why Bo is at her side - to help out?? Actually Bo, who is a little smaller than RA looks a bit wider than usual as well. They both had calves at the same time before and maybe this could happen again. I hope so!!  I follow them through a reef. Just like JoJo there's lots of rolling in the finger coral. Bo comes back to look at me and does some fancy acrobatics under me before swimming off to catch up to RA.
We follow them along Grace Bay and past Leeward. By now, the tour boats are on to us and they are stopping to look at the dolphins. I'm lucky I got to swim with them before anyone saw us. The ladies seem to like going to the boats just like JoJo.

The weather's going to turn bad tomorrow and we are hoping to go out early before it hits!!

JoJo Is Very Interactive

Hi All,
The first day after the front came through, I found JoJo not to be very interactive. Perhaps he wanted to visit other boats after there weren't many around due to the water condition. My feeling is he was not happy that we hadn't been out there catering to his travel needs! In any case he made up for it in spades, yesterday. After we found him down by Beaches, he took a ride to the end of Pine Cay. After watching him swim all around the edge of the reef, he came around our boat. That would be the time to get in. He wanted me to lead the way and we swam for a very long time in the direction of Grace Bay. It was so nice not to have one tour boat come by and interrupt our swim. I found he liked it if I went as fast as I could, which still isn't very fast. Eventually he picked up speed and passed me. That's the signal that he wants to get to Grace Bay faster than I can swim. I returned to the boat and JoJo came to the back.
After taking a ride past Grace Point, he let me swim with him all along the reef. This time I asked my daughter if she'd like to join us. (There was no hesitation there!!) He didn't interact with Kristen who stayed behind me. We were out by some pretty big rollers but I knew he wouldn't take us into them. Once he sped up again, we climbed in the boat and drove past him so he could hitch a ride this time back to Pine Cay. I got in and again had a really long swim with JoJo doing some graceful rolling in the sand which is on the first video. Notice all three gashes look very healthy as well as the one under his fluke.
John was following in Spy Hop and JoJo turned back toward the boat. This was Kristen's moment to get in. This time, JoJo took a great interest in Kristen as you can see in the video. She has swum with him before  but only comes for a week each winter and needs to renew their acquaintance.

When we got out Kristen was elated, there is definitely something that happens to you when you swim with a wild dolphin.

"Don't Touch The Coral" Oops JoJo Didn't get the Memo

Hi All,

Finally we make it out front. JoJo seemed happy to have his taxi service back. We took him up and down the coast with a few boat visits thrown in. His gashes look way better which you can see in the video. We were way down past Turtle Cove when JoJo had a prolonged scratch in the coral!!

South Side Dolphins

Hi All,
It's been very frustrating for the last few days. The wind has died down but there is a system up north creating some monster waves. We have not been able to go on the North side where JoJo usually is. We try again to negotiate the monster waves but decide heading to the South side would be safer.
The change is amazing. The water is as flat as it can be. If one little bug lands on it he creates a ripple. We decide French Cay is the place to go. French Cay is a very small island that has been designated a bird sanctuary. It is clear across the South Bank. On the other side of the island you are outside of the bank and into the deep blue water. There is the possibility of seeing whales.
Now this is the first day my daughter Kristen, has come out and she has always brought us good luck.
As we are traveling past the end of Provo and heading farther out into this beautiful flat sea, I see a dorsal. Then we all see about six dorsals. They are all over cavorting around. I get in and after some hesitation they start to circle me. The water even though flat isn't crystal clear but I got some footage. Kristen climbs in and also gets to meet the most friendly four. After a minor scooter incident, requiring extrication from the motor we get back on course to French Cay.  Safety Tip, don't wear loose clothing while operating a water scooter!! No bikini straps fluttering in the water, they will end up eaten by the scooter!!
We are now out of sight of land hoping our GPS won't fail us.  We start seeing birds circling over head as we spot the small island. Over the island are hundreds of birds circling. We decide to head out past the island and past the wall where it drops off thousands of feet. We motor way out and have our lunch while looking for whales. Kristen spots a blow and we're off! We follow along as two humpbacks make their way leisurely past the island. The we off in the distance we see dorsals and think dolphins. They are frisking about and we see more tails and cetacean cavorting. As we motor over, they all disappear; most un-dolphin like. We go back to the whales then see the dolphins again and they disappear again! We now think they are some sort of small whale perhaps Pilot whales because they are so shy when we get close. I will try to figure that out when I get to shore. Big Blue is a never ending source of info and I will call Phillipe to find out!

Upon arriving home, I go to call Phillipe and see there are lots of messages. I start returning calls to hear there was a calf swimming alone along the swim line in front of flipper ladies' condo. Everyone thought it was in some sort of distress. I'm thinking oh no not again. As soon as I leave Grace Bay something goes wrong! By the time I reached Sheila the mother dolphin had come back to the calf  and they felt all was well. The waves were so big no one could swim out to check on the calf but apparently he was ok. We will go on Grace Bay tomorrow and maybe we will find the mom and calf and of course JoJo!