Video - Diving with dozens of Dolphins

[RickI]

Feel very lucky to have fallen into this video footage. Clear water, good light, shallow water, white sand reflective bottom ... oh, and a few dozen willing spinner dolphins on the move. Usually, a boat would drop the divers on the pod and they would just swim off into the distance out of visibility in short order. For whatever reason, curiosity they let me tag along for a while, likely related to the dive scooter I was free diving on. Martin Stepanek suggested swimming on your back fast beneath the surface might bring them in. He said to try to impress or otherwise stimulate their curiosity. Martin said to avoid trying to impress them with normal free diving skills, breathholding as they will see what lame pollywogs we really are and dash off. So, I would motor along inverted and generally they allowed me to keep up or actually waited for me several times. They even circled back a couple of times. Accommodating cetaceans! They even had several young, calves with them but the moms and dads were ok with me swimming with and through the school. I understand they forage in the pelagic reaches around Sha'ab Sataya, then rest and play over the sands encompassed by the reef. More about the Long-Nosed Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris), below.* Fun stuff, checkout the video and you can see what I mean ...


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Dolphin Reef or Sha'ab Sataya about eight miles off the SE coast of Egypt



p.s. - Special thanks to Peter Satitpunwaycha for the excellent sharp still photo that is the opening shot for the video.


* CMS: Stenella longirostris, Spinner dolphin
Stenella longirostris — Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin

 

[llqwyd]

Incredible! Have had only a few chance encounters with dolphins...they are AMAZING! Mahalo for sharing.

 

[RickI]

Great shot, thank you for putting it up. A close friend who works with marine mammals said spinner dolphins were uneasy around people and would usually swim off. True enough with these pods at Sataya, at least for folks without dive scooters?! Still, I can recall a large pod off Kehei on Maui in 1999, probably 75 individuals. They just orbited around, cruised slowly along the bottom and no particularly hurry to go anywhere. What have you experienced off Kauai? Also, have you gone to the caldera off Niihua east of Kauai? Some amazing stuff over there! Diving The Forbidden Island Caldera, Whales, Seals, Sharks & More - FKA Kiteboarding Forums

 

[Scubaman7596]

We see spinners all the time. They usually do swim away. every now and again they will hang out for a few and check us out.

Here is a link to another post i started a little while ago

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/304277-pod-bottle-nose-dolphins.html

 

[llqwyd]

Aloha RickI,

Ni'ihau is a phenomenal spot where you can see some amazing things. However, a little past that is one of the most amazing spots you will ever see, Five Fathom Rock.

Ben Richards, Hawaiian Marine Biologist says, "Without a doubt, this was the best dive in Hawaii."

The Main Hawaiian Islands: Five Fathom Pinnacle

 

[RickI]

Great still shots of the dolphins swimming along your boat! Sounds like Kauai is fairly well stocked with them as well!

I noticed the extensive island arch progressing northwestward from Kauai out to Midway. Tons of island, most I've never even heard of. Bet there are some amazing undersea spectacles to be seen. I hadn't heard of Five Fathom Rock either. You folks have no end of interesting spots over there.

Heading in the other direction, have you hit South Point before at the southern tip of the Big Island? That is an incredible place, both above and in-water with all that clear blue water, cliffs and grottos.