Its a funny one.... tbh I am ULTRA sensitive when posting up any footage of Dolphins alongside us as we NEVER approach them.... We work closely with Sea Trust, acting as their representative on the Pembrokeshire Marine Code working group and are also WiSE accredited (which as per Peter/ 250KTS posts prev. is a worthwhile intro to safe interaction with marine wildlife, but as is the case with any of these sorts of things, it is just an educational course and it does require you to police yourself afterwards....)
Often, however, the Dolphs will seek you out to bowride (riding the pressure wave....you will often see them doing this with large ships and fishing boats etc etc).... Yesterday was a good example of that.... the Bay was full and they were actively approaching us.... In line with guidance we never want to stay with them too long (when we stop) but in practice that is difficult to adhere to when they follow you.... Its really important to maintain a constant bearing (no sudden changes of direction) and we are travelling at around 4 /5 knots in the video.....gently accelerating away at the end as they leave us....
We are extremely lucky as regards cetaceans here in Pembs / Cardigan Bay (Bottlenose, Commons, Rissos, Minke and Orca....but I'm yet to see one
) so we often see them... You meet them in all kinds of different moods, sometimes playful.... Guess what I'm saying is that we wouldn't actively encourage them to ride with us, but it is very special if they do
Alca Torda
Razorbill
Tystie
