It didn’t take a marine scientist to figure out these guys wanted to play. Like us, some dolphins wanted to get in close while others were happy keeping a little distance. Mom dolphin delighted in showing her youngster how to play keep-away with a piece of seaweed as they twisted, looped, and barrel rolled right next to us. The frolicking was synergistic, the more energy we showed in our actions the higher the energy of the dolphins. One of the females became very friendly and wanted more than synchronized swimming. She picked out a couple of folks (who displayed the most energy) and began a dance that changed

As if she knew the paparazzi were also on the scene she would come up to the camera then look up and over the lens right at me. It takes a lot for me to forget I’m carrying a camera but this charmed experience put me over the edge. Relishing my smooth spotted dancing partner in the brilliant blue stage pulled me into the moment. We turned and bobbed and spun ‘till I barely knew which way was up. When she finally moved off I realized I’d moved pretty far from the boat and was suddenly alone. I took a bearing and began the long swim back when the faint electric buzz sound of an underwater scooter came from behind me. I first saw the hazy yellow blob of the scooter coming at me from the bottom followed by Gene and his wildly twisting gray spotted wingmen. The dolphins put it into high gear leaving Gene far behind but left no doubt how much they loved the scooter. Watching them perform their acrobatics at closer to the speeds they’re used to was intoxicating. The total drama lasted well over 30 minutes and pretty much everyone was kind of in shock. None of us expected such a welcome and even Gene was a bit sheepish about our encounter. “Oh boy,” he said, “everyone’s going to think every encounter is like this…..was that awesome or what!”

While they weren’t exactly unapproachable they didn’t appear to be in the warm and fuzzy mode like the last bunch. The clicks and whistles had more “substance” behind them and the heavily scarred bottlenose that did cruise by seemed to be sizing you up rather then saying hello. It didn’t feel threatening, just different. The pod of 18 bottlenose and 3 spotted dolphins dove and circled us for quite some time. Some apparently were digging in the sand for dinner, engaging in a process called crater feeding. Many had whitish snouts because of the technique. Basically they find an area of interest and burrow with their rostrums (snout) into the sand looking for morsels such as the razor wrasse. The craters they leave behind could be seen on many occasions, so it’s something the Little Bahama Bank dolphins do regularly.

Even though we didn’t have the close contact like the first encounter the experience is hard to describe. Watching them cavort and perform their underwater ballet while being in their midst cannot be duplicated in an aquarium or TV show. After another half an hour or so we climbed back aboard our floating home tired and exhilarated once again. Gene was beside himself for the second time of the day, and thought how on earth will this encounter ever be duplicated for the rest of the week, yet alone for the guests of the charters yet to come. The rest of us didn’t really worry about the later part of the week, nor other folks, as sleep came easily and satisfying that night anchored on the peaceful Bank.