Dolphins

CliveG

CliveG

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Hi

We were on passage last week from Perros Giuirec to St. Mary's.
we were motoring at about 5 knts due to complete lack of wind.
At dusk we were joined by a pod of about 15 dolphins.
I think they where Bottle nose dolphins.
there seemed to be a lot of youngsters in the pod.
They put on amazing show.
We can't believe that there is any anti-fouling Left on our bow!
We where about 60 miles south o St Austell when they arrived.
The dolphins stayed with us for about 2 1/2 hours from about 10.30 p.m. to 1.00 a.m.

Has anyone had dolphins hang around this long?

No pictures unfortunately as it was to dark.
 
Only once, on passage back to UK from Azores. Had a pod of about 12 hang around for a couple of hours during the night. Amazing phosphoresence effects that night too...wonderful memory!
 
Similar experience motoring in calm seas to St Marys (scillies) and a pod of about 10-15 dolphins raced the boat for about 10 minutes. Stood on the bow taking loads of photos (of which about 2 came out!). Many of them diving under the bow and then surfacing the other side backwards and forwards. [image]D:\photos\2005\Boat Holiday - Scillies\P6060094.JPG[/image] /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Had a similar experience in a motor boat off the Bay of Islands New Zealand.
The most extraordinay experience though, was last Bank Holiday rounding Selsey Bill when a dolphin came and played with us for about 15 minutes. It was just so unexpected coming into the Solent!
 
A couple of times, both off the Channel Islands, about 5-6 dolphins, both times only half an hour. One of the most wonderful sights I've ever seen.
 
I think it might be a cat thing, but often dolphins leave other close by boats to swim with us, either that or they are just as intrigued in shipswoofy, as he stares through the guard rails at them trying to work out who would win I guess /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.

<font color="blue">My dolphin movie</font> , condensed from hours of footage crossing the Irish Sea and Bristol Channel.
 
There is a large dolphin which seems to guard the Looe channel, a bit like the one which used to do the same at the northern end of the Chenal du Four about ten years ago.

We've seen the Looe channel dolphin come up to boat after boat as they passed through.
 
Had a pod of about 10 for about 4 hours ten days ago, about 40M N of Scilly. Even after 4 hours they still impress; I think they should get bored?
 
We departed on a passage (in New Zealand) which ended up taking around 8 hours. Before we got out of the harbour (so less than an hour into the passage) we had dolphins with us and there were dolphins with us all the way to our destination. At our destination kids off yachts were rowing around in the anchorage with the dolphins playing with them.

Was obviously not the same dolphins all the way, there just seemed to be pods joining and departing all the time. Was also a most unusual experience for us, most times on the same passage we either don't see any or only a small pod or two.

John
 
Had them with me across biscay, doing about 8 knots, they seem to love that speed and the boats sound, they stayed with us for about six hours, into the night, the phophorescencewas amazing!! Like ghosts in the water, wonderful, never get bored with them, one of the great sea creatures!
 
Had several visits crossing the St georges channel recently ,up to about 20 but only for up to about half an hour.

One of their tricks was to swim diagonally under the boat from a position astern of one quarter then roll belly up when directly under the boat showing a flash of their white underside.Amazing they dont ever hit the rudder or keel .The speed they do it would be quite serious if they did.
Porpoise_jpg.jpg

Porpoises_jpg.jpg
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Wonderful creatures! We nearly always see them at least once on our annual cruise to South Brittany. There seems to be a welcoming band between Le Raz De Sein and Penmarc'h but from there south they can turn up anywhere, sometimes staying only minutes but often half an hour or more. We have seen them in the English Channel too including in the dark off the Lizard when I panicked 'cos they looked like we had gone in the rocks! I have a photo taken years back on our old boat of SWMBO sunbathing topless on the sidedeck, the spinnaker was up, the log was reading over 7kts and the dolphins were off the bows in water that was unbelievably blue. THAT is why we return to South Brittany every year, 7kts plus in our old boat at home would more usually be accompanied by cold blustery wet winds and SWMBO in full thermals and wet gear!

We met a large French yacht many years back from St Nazaire which had a dolphin emblem on a large burgee flying. I asked what it was for and he said it was because one night (and this was before we all had GPS or Decca navigation) he was returning to St Nazaire in thick fog and was 'attacked' by dolphins that charged head on at his bows before swerving away at the last minute. He was so alarmed by this that he turned away and stopped, hoping they would go away and then the fog cleared and he saw the rocks which had he carried on he would surely have hit. Until then he was sure he was on course and in clear water, he was convinced that the dolphins action was deliberate to prevent him piling into the rocks.

Robin
 
Had some following us around West Hinder light a few weeks ago whilst returning from Belgium. When they left I found I was trembling with excitement. Fabulous creatures, they were a lot bigger than I thought they would be. Not your cuddly flipper types. I did get lots of photos but I dont know how to post them on here.

Kim
 
Have had Dolphins travel with us all night across the Bristol Channel - they arrived when we cleared Milford Haven and stayed with us until first light when they headed off to a fishing boat in the distance.

They approached from astern and surfaced next to the cockpit to announce their arrival and then in varying numbers played around the bows sometimes going off a way then one would come back and "check" every few minutes. Amazing sight seeing them playing in the light of the bicolour!

Unfortunately not a lot of phophoresence that night
 
Returning from Ijmuiden to Harwich last week had a couple playing around under the boat as discribed for some time also appeared with a great explosion of water 3 foot from my elbow at 11 oclock at night as I was sitting alone in the cockpit, didnt frighten me at all...
How do you tell the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise, these ones didnt look like flipper in colouring
 
We regulary see porpoises (?Harbour Porpoises?) in the East Coast estuaries, even though they're sometimes fairly difficult to spot in the muddy water. One which took up residence in the Blackwater for a while a few years ago followed (rather than led) us upriver for about an hour. They are quite shy though, and have never come closer than 50 yards.

BTW, is it my imagination, or is all the coastal wildlife becoming very tame?

Oystercatchers nesting on marina's grass banks only 5 yards from pontoons, and so unwittingly providing snacks for the local foxes (Woodbrige). Herons staring back at you from water's edge less than 25 yards (Pyfleet). Dunlin seemingly unfazed by being almost swamped by wash from boats passing by 10 yards away and Mullet rolling on their side to look up at you as they hoover your boot-top (West Mersea). Seals that bump under your rubbaduck and play with your oar-blades as you row ashore (Erwarton) or swim right up to a steep-to beach and splash you (Walton Stone). Crested Grebes paddling around marinas. etc. etc.

Just interested.
 
Think I would get a bit scared if seals started messing when we were in the tender.

The thing that always makes me smile with the dolphins is when they spot us. They act like a pack of excited puppies, you see them 1000 yds off and one of them spots us. The enthusiasm to get to us at full tilt with lots of jumping is, sorry to use the word, but cute! - It is as though they are all shouting "yee hah a boat to play with, come on everybody!!!"

I find it very levelling when one of the bigger more dominant dolphins is swimming along with the boat and I can see him watching my every move. They are very nosey creatures, which I guess comes with intelligence.
 
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