Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Dolphins Under the Bow


It is eight months since my last Blog tale. I am once again aboard the sailing vessel Majestic Dream. Today I had the sheer joy of watching dolphins race along with our boat. This trip we started out in Ft. Lauderdale. My husband and my mother made this trip. If you read some of my earlier posts you will see that I made the trip from West Pam Beach to the far end of the Chesapeake Bay in the spring with my father and a friend of his. My husband, Lincoln made the trip from the Chesapeake to the southern tip of Georgia in October with my father. My parents continued the trip down the coast and we have both joined up with them this week.



We are anchored in Miami harbor tonight enjoying the lights of the homes in this little inner harbor and those of the hi rises to our north and south. On our way down to today we were joined by a pod of dolphins. I spent the first 10 minutes trying to get a picture of them as one or two swam along side of us. The water was so clear I could see them rushing along a foot or more under the surface. It is hard to get a photo as they come up for air with the digital due to the timing. I saw one head up toward the bow and decided to go up their to try and get a picture of him as I looked back the length of the boat.

As I approached the bow I looked down to the port side of the boat and saw what I thought was 2 dolphins running along side of us. I bent down to take a photo and was astounded to see 4 then 5 dolphins racing just inches ahead of the bow, a times one would drop off below the boat and then rejoin the group. I took a lot of photos. I laughed, talked to the dolphins and was so amazed at how they played.. I was also amazed at how they could swim so close to the underbelly of the boat without being hit by it. I guess our speed of 6.5 knots (about 6 miles per hour) was not hard for them to manage. Later I realized I should have take video of their game. We cannot always be prepared for every adventure though we can certainly enjoy it when the moment comes. Each time we learn something new, enhance our lives with the journey and know what we will do the next time knowing that if even if the next time does not come we will be prepared. Most importantly the moment was exquisite. Running with the dolphins I felt as if I truly was walking the waves with them.