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The
British Virgin Islands has the most friendly Dolphin, so during
your sail keep a watchful eye open for this gorgeous creature.
Expect to enjoy a unique opportunity to swim and play with a
wild, and friendly, dolphin.
"Captain
Jack of Dream walker". |
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I
first met Lucy on April 20, 1998. 1 was between charters and had
taken advantage of the dry sunny weather to add a few coats of
varnish to the Dreamwalker's extensive exterior teak. Shortly
after beginning work at 06:00, I noticed a dolphin swimming around
Dreamwalker and a couple of unoccupied yachts moored nearby in
Elephant Bay. Because dolphins are not an uncommon sight in the
Virgin Islands and because the correct application of varnish does
not tolerate interruptions, I continued my varnishing while the
dolphin continued to make her rounds. By
10:00 my varnishing was done and my curiosity peaked:
Throughout the morning the dolphin--which I later named 'Lucy--had
continued circling the three vessels as if she were looking for
something or someone with which to play. I
changed into my snorkeling gear, and when she again approached
Dreamwalker, I dove in and swam to where she had last surfaced.
Once there I lay motionless in the Water. |
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Not
five seconds later Lucy was staring, thorough my swim mask, into
my eyes; her bottle nose not 12" away! Tentatively, I slowly
reached out and touched and then stroked her back.
In
response she turned over and let me scratch her stomach. For about
ten minutes we swam and touched and dove together. When she
disappeared, I returned to the Dreamwalker and my chores, keeping
an eye out for Lucy the friendly dolphin. An hour later she
returned, and again we swam and touched and dove together, I
returned to the Dreamwalker filled with joy and awe for the lovely
creature that had allowed me, for a little while, to become her
friend.
Over
the next week and a half Lucy swam with a number of my sailing
friends during her tour of Elephant Bay. One day I watched her
lead six or seven snorkelers on a merry chase before she stopped
and let them pet and hug her. Then she simply disappeared.
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About
two weeks before I first met Lucy, an English sailor cruised into
Long Bay and docked for a couple of days at Safe (Yacht) Haven, At
the time I was also at dock, preparing for a charter. As sailors
in new port often do, he stopped by Dreamwalker to ask about
provisioning, parts stores and the like.
During
the course of our conversation he mentioned that he had the most
exhilarating experience at Cane Garden Bay In Tortola, He had actually
swam with and petted a dolphin! He asked if that was a common
experience in the Virgin Islands. I replied that I had never heard of
anyone else having such an opportunity, and affirmed that he should
take such an experience as a very good omen.
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I continued looking for Lucy and listening for stories about her after
our April 20 meeting, I saw and heard nothing until May 22 of this
year. Just after sailing off mooring on a Bareboat Certification
Charter, I noticed two dolphins swimming toward Dreamwalker. As we
sailed by one of the dolphins she did a sideways swimming, tail stand;
her head cocked as if she wanted to make eye contact with those of us
on board. I was delighted, but puzzled, by this show: |
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I had previously
seen such tail stands exhibited only by trained dolphins and in movies.
While I cannot say for certain that the tail standing dolphin was Lucy,
I can tell you that It had Lucy's unusually light face.
The
following week's charter guests chose to spend an afternoon ashore at
Cane Garden Bay. So on June 3 we arrived in harbor relatively early.
Just after securing my ground tackle, I looked up in wonder to see a
40' Beneteau Bareboat entering harbor at six knots or more. My wonder
soon turned to amazement when the Beneteau circled through the
anchorage, never slowing down! The third time they flew by I asked if
they had a problem. They pointed to their wake and yelled, "We
have a dolphin following us!" When the skipper finally brought the
vessel to idle. His five passengers jumped in the water to
"play" with the dolphin.
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By
this time, having seen her white face, I knew it was Lucy. She too
wanted to play. But rather than letting the snorkelers hug and scratch
her, she led them on a game of hide and seek. She would swim slowly
away while they frantically followed, then - just when they were about
to catch her - she would dive and come up behind or between them. She
would then continue the game by swimming slowly away with her frenzied
fans following her. |
After fifteen minutes she tired of the game &
finally swam away. Around
16:00 my guest and I set sail for Jost Van Dyke. A quarter-mile out of
Cane Garden Bay, "Lucy" appeared beside Dreamwalker.
She
swam with us for the rest of the trip, departing only when we entered
Great Harbor. In
attempting to research Lucy's background, I happened to cross wakes
with Jim Spence, a former Bareboat Certification Student of mine. Jim
claims that he met Lucy last year when he and his lady, Ellen, rented a
bareboat from Sun Yacht Charters. Arriving in Fat Hog Bay, Jim was a
bit apprehensive about the charter because Ellen suffered from chronic
middle ear problems. Shortly after boarding the rented vessel, a
dolphin swam up to the transom and Ellen spent almost an hour petting
and playing with it. The experience instilled in her a love of the
Caribbean and they had a delightful week sailing together.
When
Jim asked others about the friendly dolphin, he was told that a number
of trained dolphin were brought to the islands for a movie, and that
one of them simply decided to stay rather than return to its trainer. I
can vouch for Jim's veracity, but not for those who told him the story.
Is Lucy a trained dolphin who chose freedom rather than security when
given the opportunity? Or is she a wild dolphin who particularly likes
human contact?
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cannot say. But I can tell you that those of us who have been fortunate
enough to sail with her, to swim with her, and to touch her have
ourselves been touched by incredible joy, incredible happiness and
incredible love. Dreamwalker. Magnificent well appointed
sailboat. Superb
captain and personal chef. And Lucy? Priced right, we have
recommended raising their rates. |
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