A Day In The Life of JoJo

Hi All, After two dolphin-less days, Eureka!! We motor out of the marina where we see the houses lining the canal missing roofs and palm trees with barely any fronds. The hurricanes have reeked havoc on the island. There are many men scurrying about fixing roofs. The people of Turks and Caicos are coming together to put their island paradise back together. We pass the pole where a family of Ospreys had built a massive nest. Now there is a small messy nest with strings and plastic bags hanging off the sides. We come out into Leeward Channel where all the yachts were once docked. There are a few pilings left but most of the docks have been swept away. I see a blue heron walking along one remaining dock where once the massive yachts were tied up. I'm elated that it's a beautiful day with flat seas but also relieved that people can work on their roofs without dodging rain showers. We make our usual trip down the coast and find two dolphins near a tour boat on the way back. I get in to find JoJo swimming with a dolphin that has had her dorsal partly snipped off. They are quite amorous. Lots of flipper footsie and stroking going on. JoJo is a lover and he hasn't lost his charm. When I get in they come up to greet me. The dolphin with the injured dorsal I've named Snipper. I must say she did come to me the way Bo greets me - hmmm. As most of you know Bo is one of JoJo's favorite female dolphins.I get to accompany them as they slowly make their way to Leeward Channel. They travel close to the shore giving observant beach walkers a chance to see them (and a snorkeler:)) They spend a long time at Leeward milling around and visiting various boats. Eventually they start making their way toward Pine Cay. We get a radio call from Andy our buddy that is now the captain of Privet, a large yacht that has managed to find a temporary slip. He tells us that there is a dolphin by his yacht which is anchored in front of The Meridian Club on Pine Cay. This makes me sooo excited that maybe Whizzer, my cheeky dolphin friend who would be three years old this year, is with him. Most calfs leave their moms around the age of three. I have been worried that he might have left Bo and as a result, I might not see him. We decide to leave JoJo and Snipper and see if its Whizzer. We also figure they are planning to meet since they are slowly heading toward Pine Cay. As we pull up we see a single dorsal heading our way. I get in and Whizzer comes right up. He has grown a lot. He's almost as long as JoJo and very handsome:) We spend a long time swimming together. I get out fearing my cameras, scooters and body may give out before the others show up. When I get on Spy Hop, he swims right next to us. Eventually he swims off and we briefly lose sight of him. Then there are three! JoJo and Snipper have arrived. They all swim happily together and head to the boat! I get back in. There seems to be some sort of hanky-panky going on! Its quite murky and hard to see exactly what's happening. At one point Whizzer blows some huge bubbles that come to the surface right in front of my mask. Is he warning me that they were getting rambunctious and perhaps I should back off? It seems that way because he then shot out of the water! It's hard to say because they kept coming to me when I can't find them in the murky water. We've been with them all day and I feel its time to head home. As we head into the marina, the osprey is carrying some new material for his nest! The dolphins are good, the ospreys are good and the resilient people of Turks and Caicos are safe.

JoJo Snipper and Whizzer from Jay Sargent on Vimeo.