The Dolphin's Eye - Cousette Copeland's Dolphin Swim

The catamaran, Dolphin Quest, motored in the wide-open sea north of Bimini Island in the Bahamas. Three of us sat on the front of the boat (the bow) and hung our feet above the waves. We sang American show tunes and folksongs. I read that dolphins liked the sound of music so I hoped they were listening. As the catamaran picked up speed, it felt the way I swam in my dreams, like a dolphin, leaping in and out over the waves! We had one brief encounter with 2 spotted dolphins and 2 bottlenose dolphins, but we were hoping to see more dolphins. It was late in the afternoon, and our prayers would be answered.

Soon someone spotted dolphins again. Everyone crowded forward to the bow, and we watched two spotted dolphins - a mother and baby dolphin - alternate and crisscross as they rode the bow wave below us. I started whistling and the baby seemed to turn on its side and look up at me. The baby leapt out of the water and flashed its underbelly as it flipped backwards into the sea. The belly was pink from excitement! You could tell that the baby was really having fun. The mother seemed to be introducing the baby to humans. Both dolphins tilted their heads and look up – their eyes seemed to take us in with a quick glance. The boat was moving incredibly fast, and the dolphins looked elegant and joyful as they rode the bow wave. We laughed and cheered and called out greetings.

All of a sudden, we saw other dolphins heading towards us, breaching their curved backs and dorsal fins in and out of the waves. They began riding the bow wave. I counted out loud 1, 2, 3…12! and gave up. There were so many! They zigzagged and wove in and out in front of us. The baby kept leaping out of the water. The dolphins were so clearly visible that I could see the differences between them. I saw that one had a bumpy rostrum (nose). I nicknamed him Clubnose. We could see that the younger ones had no spots and were more clearly defined with white underbellies. The older ones seemed to be grayer or darker, depending on the amount of spots they had. We began identifying different ones based on scars, the shape of a dorsal fin, or a notch in their tail flukes. Just riding the catamaran above the swift-moving dolphins made my heart sparkle with joy every time a dolphin’s eye met mine.

The boat finally slowed down and one by one, we began jumping off of the catamaran. I plunged into the water, rose and cleared my mask. I looked down, seeing nothing at first. So I looked at the ocean’s surface and saw where several snorkelers seemed clustered. I swam towards them, looked down, and I saw magic! There must have been two dozen dolphins swimming as if in slow motion.

Some strong swimmers in our group were like dolphins as they swam down to the sandy bottom 30 feet or so below us. The dolphins seemed to especially like Monika, who stayed down the longest. They clustered around her and seemed to want to brush their pectoral fins against her. Some of the others in our group also dove down and the dolphins swam by to look at them. One man dove down, and as he swiveled his head to look around, his head jerked back in surprise because a dolphin was curiously gazing into his mask!

For the most part, we could snorkel on the surface and many dolphins swam around us. I knew that some dolphins rest at night by floating on the surface while guard dolphins periodically nudge them to make sure they keep breathing. Maybe they thought we were resting on the surface and wanted to make sure we were still breathing. I was amazed that these dolphins which had just been racing so swiftly on the catamaran’s bow wave, now moved gracefully and gently around us.

I snorkeled – hypnotized in wonder. A group of 3 dolphins came by and circled me. I slowly turned, looking back at them – eye-to-eye – and tried to talk to them through my snorkel. The sunlight came through the water’s surface and the older dolphins’ sides sparkled white with gray and black spots. The younger dolphins’ bodies gleamed in smooth gray and white. As they swam by, each dolphin looked me in the eye, expressing curiosity, interest, and amusement.

A lone dolphin came by and swam me. Then a pair of dolphins seemed to want me to follow them. I swam with them, then slowed when I realized I was getting too far from the group. At the moment I thought about turning back, the two dolphins seemed to read my mind and disappeared into the dark waters. It was so easy to get separated from the group. This was the open sea! I lifted my head and saw that I had already swam far away from the other snorkelers.

I swam back and looked down again. It was funny, but there seemed to be more light coming through the ocean where we were all clustered together! There were so many dolphins just gliding around and below us! It was as if in a dream! I looked below me and saw a trio of dolphins come together – nose to tail – spin round and round! Then just as quickly as they began the spin, they quickly split and swam away. It was a wonder to look down and see so many below me.

The baby had the crispest color contrast and the older adults colors were muted by the many spots they had. The water was clear aqua near the surface, but changed to a softer kelp-like green nearer to the deeper waters and the sandy bottoms over 30 feet below. So many dolphins! So many! When they swam around, I could hear clicking and a high pitched sound – their locating/identification sonar. Incredible!

Sometimes I felt as if I was alone and all of a sudden they’d swim looking to see if I’d follow. Or, playfully, they’d come around from behind and alongside, or from behind and below. The baby seemed most curious and I felt it was giving each of us the once over, committing us to memory. Over and over the baby came up from the bottom, spiraling as it looked around as it moved up to the surface. Each time, it looked me in the eye. I think the baby knew I was the one who had been whistling and singing from the surface. The look in its eye as it looked at me…Gripping the snorkel in my teeth, my mouth was stretched in a happy grin!

For over an hour, we, dolphins and humans, moved back and forth amongst each other. Occasionally, I’d try to dive down and spin around. The dolphins looked up into my eyes and seemed to be chuckling because I could never dive very far. Actually, I dove farther than I expected and almost forgot that I couldn’t stay down without breathing. Then, I rose back to the surface blowing out air all the way. I felt that I could stay on the surface just as easily and see almost as much as anyone else. One of our group, Monika seemed to have that special connection because she could get down to their level and stay there. She remained close to the ocean’s bottom for such a long time that I thought she might be a dolphin herself! Later, I found out that she is a world-champion synchronized swimmer from Switzerland.

One dolphin came up and spent some time swimming with me. I could see its tattoo – a white against gray scar behind its dorsal fin. I noticed them playing with each other as they tossed a piece of seaweed, and one dolphin caught it on a pectoral (arm) or tail fin. Another dolphin retrieved the prize, gently using their teeth to pull away the loose strand of seaweed.

I saw how this was a community of dolphins – that they were involved and connected with each other and no dolphin swam alone. The eye looking into the eye of another species – direct and observant, without fear.

I felt an unusual excitement, calm not frenzied, excitement that seemed endless. When we were called to get back into the boat and began leaving the water, I could hear their clicking and high-pitched sonar as I called out good-bye. From the deck, we saw several dolphins breach and slowly come towards the catamaran – as if to say, “What’s up? Come back and play! You are fun for us!"” They slowed down and they went under the boat, and then they were gone.

As we began sailing back to the harbor, I was aware that we were not in sight of any land. We had all jumped into the open sea, swam far from the boat, and frolicked with wild dolphins. I looked up to the heavens and all the clouds had dolphin and whale shapes. I thanked God, Buddha, Allah, and all the gods and goddesses of the sea for the wonder of the day.

I looked about the wide open ocean, recalled how fast the dolphins could swim on the bow wave, and marveled that they slowed down to observe and enjoy us as much as we did them. It was true intent on their part to share with us. I wondered if the dolphins had any recognition of our need to connect with them – but had to put that thought aside, because with them, around them, about them, and of the dolphins is nothing but JOY.