18.05.2018 – Making waves

I cruised with a group of friendly guests aboard our traditional boat today and our search for cetaceans took us a long way from Calheta, around 5 nautical miles off the coastline near Ribeira Brava. Our zodiac was already on site, marking the sighting area fore us before speeding off back to the marina as we arrived. Our encounter with the large group of Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) had to be brief so that we return on time but it was nonetheless very enjoyable. As always, these interactive dolphins approached our boat and leapt alongside us with several animals bow-riding beneath the clear waters, allowing us to fully appreciate them.

So many guests ask us why dolphins actually ride the waves of our bow. The underlying physical reason is acceleration; dolphins generally use waves to glide through the water which helps them conserve energy. The already nimble common dolphins can reach velocities of up to 60km\h meaning they could easily beat our zodiac Stenella. When dolphins, however, adapt their speed to the wake of our boat they simply glide through the waves, occasionally peeking up at us. You could say it’s a mixture of curiosity and fun; riding the waves does help them use less energy while swimming but we aren’t always moving to where these agile beings intend to go. We could ponder on but at the end of the day it’s hard to imagine the intentions of such intelligent animals during such an interaction. We can only hope that they enjoy these encounters as much as we do!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

15:00 Short-beaked common dolphins

Stenella

15:00 Short-beaked common dolphins