The boat was going round and round in circles at high speed. We weren't lost and we were not searching for a wreck. What's more we were doing this instead of going diving and I was enthusiastic about it.The boat was going round and round in circles at high speed. We weren't lost and we were not searching for a wreck. What's more we were doing this instead of going diving and I was enthusiastic about it.
You could easily be forgiven for thinking that something was wrong, both with me and with the captain of the boat. But everything was going as planned. It was all part of a clever strategy to swim with spotted dolphins on the Bimini Banks in the Bahamas.
The trick was to get the dolphins in a playful mood. They liked to ride the wake of the boat, but would give up if we lead them too far from where they wanted to be. With the boat going round in large circles the dolphins could join or leave the boat chasing game whenever they liked without straying too far from their friends.
On the swim platform and along the sides of the boat we were lined up ready to jump, snorkels in our mouths and cameras and videos in our hands. The engine noise changed as the captain cut the engine and shouted "go-go-go".
Splash, a mass of foaming water and I just had time to wipe clinging bubbles from my camera port as the first dolphin came zooming past, spinning a barrel roll as he dipped below me and banked to make a close circuit.
I managed to shoot a few frames, probably of my own fins and the dolphin's tail as I hardly had time to think about what I was doing. Gathering my wits and a deep breath I duck dived down to the white sand 10 metres below me.
Looking up I could see the other divers swimming to one side with an obvious purpose. They obviously had dolphins in sight. Three dolphins in the distance dived below them, then made a quick S and pulled a formation barrel roll as they swooped towards me.
There was never any question of a collision. One of the dolphins made another S to come to a momentary halt in front of me. If dolphins could wink I am sure there would have been a mischievous flip of the eyelid.