Top 10 lists are everywhere these days, and they admittedly can get a little silly. But, I recently stumbled across a top 100+ list called “Why it’s great to be a sailor”, and just had to share it. The first one made me smile …. “seeing dolphins frolicking in the curl of the bow wave”.
I grew up sailing in the Pensacola Bay/Destin/Gulf Coast area and I have seen dolphins in our waters a number of times and I never tire of it. When they surface right next to the boat, they seem to wink and flash you that smile that says “Hey, come on, let’s play!”, and I always get that excited goose bumpy feeling.
The dolphins always seem to be camera shy — the minute you fumble with your camera and/or phone (and hope it doesn’t end up overboard!) they are gone. If you are lucky enough to encounter them on your sail, don’t grab your phone hoping for that ultimate selfie with Flipper. Just enjoy the moment.
While sailing across the Gulf Stream from the Bahamas to Florida, I ignored my own advice and was lucky enough to snap the video and picture shown.
In the Pensacola area, the most common dolphin we see is the Bottlenose Dolphin. We call them “Locals”. People sometimes call them porpoises, but there is a difference.
Captain Linda Thompson has sailed up and down the coast of Florida, to and from a number of Caribbean Islands, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, Norway, and the Mediterranean, but loves her home town waters of Pensacola Bay and the surrounding area the most.