No sooner had we left the quay than the crew spotted two female dolphins with their young so we spent some thirty minutes circling in the harbour waiting for them all appear. We were rewarded a view of them on a number of occasions. We were told by the crew that it was fairly unusual for them to be seen in the harbour.
We then proceeded out of the harbour where you were able to see all the development that has taken place along the waterfront. Amongst all the new development you will see one older house which used to be owned by a lady who refused to sell to the developers. They tried to place a compulsory purchase order on her home but she refused to buckle under the pressure of the big boys and was able to get her own order preserving the house from demolition. It is still there today surrounded by new developments but strangely enough it does not look out of place.
Once we had cleared the entrance we picked up speed until we got about a mile offshore and then the boat slowed down so that the crew could start looking for the dolphins. It did take a little while for this and I think we were beginning to give up hope of seeing any more, let alone see them leaping in the wake of the boat. We had got as far as Honeymoon Island when suddenly one of the crew spotted something, so off we went to catch up with them, at this stage the crew asked us to sit down. Once near them the boat picked up speed, the purpose of which is that the dolphins will follow and start leaping up in the wake. For whatever reason the first burst of speed failed to get a real reaction from the dolphins so once again we were feeling disappointment. However not to be outwitted by the dolphins the crew turned the boat was turned round once again and off we set off at speed once more. This time we were fully rewarded and we had the dolphins jumping again and again in the wake of the boat. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get photos although we did between us manage between us to get some lovely photos, it was more luck than judgement. Because there were only a few of us on the boat we were able to stand around the boat and all have a good view. However if the boat was full it would definitely be far more difficult.
We then proceeded out of the harbour where you were able to see all the development that has taken place along the waterfront. Amongst all the new development you will see one older house which used to be owned by a lady who refused to sell to the developers. They tried to place a compulsory purchase order on her home but she refused to buckle under the pressure of the big boys and was able to get her own order preserving the house from demolition. It is still there today surrounded by new developments but strangely enough it does not look out of place.
Once we had cleared the entrance we picked up speed until we got about a mile offshore and then the boat slowed down so that the crew could start looking for the dolphins. It did take a little while for this and I think we were beginning to give up hope of seeing any more, let alone see them leaping in the wake of the boat. We had got as far as Honeymoon Island when suddenly one of the crew spotted something, so off we went to catch up with them, at this stage the crew asked us to sit down. Once near them the boat picked up speed, the purpose of which is that the dolphins will follow and start leaping up in the wake. For whatever reason the first burst of speed failed to get a real reaction from the dolphins so once again we were feeling disappointment. However not to be outwitted by the dolphins the crew turned the boat was turned round once again and off we set off at speed once more. This time we were fully rewarded and we had the dolphins jumping again and again in the wake of the boat. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get photos although we did between us manage between us to get some lovely photos, it was more luck than judgement. Because there were only a few of us on the boat we were able to stand around the boat and all have a good view. However if the boat was full it would definitely be far more difficult.