Swimming with the Dolphins

When you do get the GO signal from the Crew, guests are instructed to gently slide/transition. The Dolphins will be very close by and you should be able to see them almost immediately. Once in the water, there are a number of rules and guidelines that everyone must abide by.

The first of which is — No attempting to touch the Dolphins! In the wild Dolphins are obviously not domesticated animals. They do not have arms and do not understand the whole "petting" thing. Also, notice that we said "attempt" to touch the Dolphins. Truth be told, if a Dolphin doesn't want you to touch them, you won't be able to. They will simply swim away from you. The challenge is, if someone in the group continuously tries to touch the Dolphins, the Dolphins will not only swim away from them, they will swim away from the group.

The second rule is — No chasing the Dolphins! Here's another statistic many people are unaware of. A Dolphin can swim at about 25 mph. Humans swim in the ocean at about 1 mph. The chances of a human actually "catching up to" a Dolphin that is swimming away from them is 0%. What we have observed is that again, when swimmers start "chasing" Dolphins, the Dolphins often times swim away from the entire group. That is why, during the orientation, Nowdla encourages everyone to keep their hands down and away from the Dolphins, and, to let the Dolphins do most of the swimming. After all, they are better at it than we are!

Something that you can do that enhances not only your experience, but the experience of everyone in your group, is to Free Dive (aka Breath Hold Dive). The Dolphins seem to be fascinated with people's ability to Free Dive. Holding your breath and diving vertically down to the bottom (usually depths are 30 – 35 ft). In many cases the Dolphins will dive down to the bottom, and, return to the surface with you. Often times in very close proximity. Those who remain on the surface and watch this activity are also in for a treat. Free Diving tends to be a very centering activity. Drawing the Dolphins into the center of the group. When the Free Diver along with the Dolphins return to the surface, everyone gets a very up close and personal encounter.

How long a Dolphin swim lasts is something that also, is up to the Dolphins. We have had swims that have lasted 5 minutes, and, we have had swims that have lasted 1 ½ hours. The Dolphins decide when the swim is done. When they do, they seem to disappear from site as quickly as they appeared. As part of the pre-trip orientation, all guests are taught a few simple signals that allow them to communicate with the Crew aboard the boat during the swim. During extended time swims, guests can signal the boat wanting to come out of the water to take a short break. Then after a brief rest, back in the water with the Dolphins.

Earlier we said that "we have neither the capability nor the desire to influence the Dolphins to do anything they do not choose to do on their own". Here is what we mean by that. Here are a few facts about Wild Dolphins. Dolphins have the ability to swim at about 20 – 25 mph. Dolphins also have the ability to hold their breath in excess of 5 minutes. And, they can do both things simultaneously. Meaning, at any given time, a Dolphin can swim away, in any direction, underwater, at 20+ mph, and do so for 5+ minutes before surfacing for another breath! In contrast, we already shared with you that most humans swim in the ocean at about 1 mph. Also, our Dolphin vessel ADVENTURER has a top speed of just 12 mph. Less than half the speed of your average Dolphin.

What this boils down to is simple. Even if we wanted to (and we do not), we have neither the resources nor the capability to chase, catch, or find Dolphins that decide they wish to swim away. That is why we say, "the only way that these Dolphin swims can happen is if the Dolphins themselves want them to happen". It's pretty amazing to stop and think that if you have experienced a Wild Dolphin Swim encounter, it is because the Dolphin chose to swim with you! There is no other way it could possibly happen.