11.02.2020 – Folks, don’t try this at home!

What a lovely group of guests we were able to cruise out with on this fine morning. Isolated rain showers were scattered across the Atlantic in the distance and the overcast sky created a silver glare at the surface. This surface was soon broken by the dorsal fins of a dispersed group of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) swimming 2 nautical miles off the coast of Jardim do Mar. While some animals seemed rather indifferent to our presence, others curiously approached our boat with one animal even spy-hopping and two young dolphins bow-riding.

After this fantastic sighting our spotter and crew searched the large area of water in front of Paul do Mar and Ponta do Pargo before eventually setting course back to Calheta. As we drove back we decided to make a short stop near Jardim do Mar to watch a few surfers ride the high, epic swell near the shoreline. It was incredible to watch the athletes take on the enormous masses of water and the merciless waves of Jardim are not for the faint-hearted, especially since the large surf wall was installed. This piece of coastal development has changed the face of the quaint little town, left a mark on its marine life and has left surfers to face a swell that breaks dangerously close to the rocks. The situation at Jardim do Mar inspired surfers worldwide to form a coalition, called Save the Waves, in order to prevent this from happening to other surf spots on the planet.

Keeping these coastal areas healthy and free from further development is beneficial to all coastal marine life including the Bottlenose dolphins we encountered today. These dolphins are the most frequently sighted cetacean species along the coastline here in Madeira so anything that may harm marine life near the coast will also affect them. We must not forget that everything in nature is part of a complex web, a network that stretches far beyond what we can fathom. So what affects the dolphin is sure to affect the surfer.

We managed to wrap up our tour before the Southeast wind picked up and whipped up the oceans surface. Thanks to the driving expertise of our captain, however, we all looked windswept all the same as we arrived back in. the marina. The line which we unanimously applied to the big wave surfers and the last burst of speed on our zodiac was “Don’t try this one at home folks…”

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins