Do Dolphins like boat riding?

Dolphins love to bow-ride boats, getting a free ‘surf’ from the pressure wave generated by the forward motion of the boat. In the ‘natural’ situation, they do the same trick with large whales. And they have no objection if the boat is small and fast, being easily capable of intercepting and picking up the bow wave of a vessel traveling at over 30 knots. The sight of dolphins leaping alongside a boat and jockeying for position at the bows of a boat has excited and gladdened seafarers since time immemorial and we see no rhyme nor reason in trying to prevent this. At times cetaceans may also be curious about stationary boats and may approach fishing boats hauling lobster pots, for example.

Double Playing Dolphins on Coral

$4.99
Stock#8576

 These unique creatures boast a height of approximately 4 inches and are made of ceramic bisque.  The detail gives the realistic features.  Our supplies are limited at this low, low price.

We neither encourage you to go swimming with wild dolphins nor do we advise you against it. Each situation is different and is a matter of personal choice. However, here are some issues you might like to consider.

Normally, wild dolphins do not tend to approach human swimmers or divers. As there is no possible way that even the strongest of human swimmers or divers can approach a healthy free-living dolphin unobserved or without the dolphin being able to move away at a far greater speed, all human-dolphin encounters in the ocean take place on the dolphins’ terms and at their discretion. This simple fact is often forgotten when bureaucrats and regulators discuss measures to protect dolphins from too much human interest. Swimming with dolphins is a fundamentally different situation from a boat-based encounter. With sufficient horse-power and ignorance at their disposal, it is possible for humans in fast boats to severely harass wild dolphins. It is true that even in a confined space and with many boats pursuing them, dolphins have an extraordinary ability to disappear at will. The Dingle dolphin has proved this on many occasions and a few hours’ observation of Dingle harbor on a sunny summer’s day will soon reveal that even if it is a circus going on, the ringmaster is the dolphin! So even over-eager boat skippers may not pose so much of a threat to wild dolphins as might be thought. Nevertheless, harassment by motorboats may well prevent dolphins from feeding, separate mothers from calves and severely stress the animals. It may also be that in Dingle we have become too used to the spectacle of 15 or 20 motor boats chasing one dolphin around a harbor, and people may have forgotten that not all dolphins are used to this kind of treatment or able to cope with it in the way the Dingle dolphin does. The existing regulations which outlaw this behavior should therefore be enforced in respect of all dolphins whether solitary or not.