Dolphins Playing - 02° 34' 25" N 101° 49' 22" E
Routine tasks on a boat can suddenly turn thrilling in a hurry. Today I had my first experience watching dolphins ride the bow wave of Popeye.
I was taking a bag of trash forward to the front locker when Kate shouted from the helm, "Dolphins!" and pointed forward, past the bow. I looked and saw (300-400m away) three fins at the surface, just to the right of our course. They remained there for a few seconds as we approached them, then submerged. I quickly tucked the trashbag away and moved all the way forward to the very front of the bow to try and spot them again. In a few seconds, they (all EIGHT of them now) appeared just metres from our bow, all swimming the same direction as we were travelling.
I wanted to shout with amazement and happiness as I watched then weave amoungst each other and the boat ... so I did shout - a hearty "Yahooo!" and waved at them with my free arm.
I marveled at how they could easily match our 6.5 knots of speed through the water. Each of the dolphins swam up to the surface and seemed to be turn an eye up to me (who was still waving and yahooing) before rolling to get their blowhole up to take a full-speed gulp of airbefore carrying on. My heart was filled with joy and awe as I watched them swimming along with us. I wished I could somehow send them the goodwill I was feeling and thank them for coming to interact with me and make their presence known. Yahooing and waving was the only safe way I could think of communicating, so I carried on until, one by one, the quit their display of skill. They left me standing wide-eyed and amazed, as far forward on the bow as I dared to go, shoulder against the furling headsail.
I think we humans all try to reach out to other beings and make their lives a bit more joyous. I wonder if their playing in the boat's bow wave was meant to reach out to me (or the boat), or was just coincidental as part of their game.
 |
| Not my picture, but exactly what it looked like |
I wanted to shout with amazement and happiness as I watched then weave amoungst each other and the boat ... so I did shout - a hearty "Yahooo!" and waved at them with my free arm.
I marveled at how they could easily match our 6.5 knots of speed through the water. Each of the dolphins swam up to the surface and seemed to be turn an eye up to me (who was still waving and yahooing) before rolling to get their blowhole up to take a full-speed gulp of airbefore carrying on. My heart was filled with joy and awe as I watched them swimming along with us. I wished I could somehow send them the goodwill I was feeling and thank them for coming to interact with me and make their presence known. Yahooing and waving was the only safe way I could think of communicating, so I carried on until, one by one, the quit their display of skill. They left me standing wide-eyed and amazed, as far forward on the bow as I dared to go, shoulder against the furling headsail.
I think we humans all try to reach out to other beings and make their lives a bit more joyous. I wonder if their playing in the boat's bow wave was meant to reach out to me (or the boat), or was just coincidental as part of their game.
Comments
Post a Comment