UKDIVING
around Newquay and Penzance from spring 2017 until mid-2018 where , depending upon the location he appeared in , had become known as ‘ Splashy ’ or ‘ Pierre ’ by locals . This discovery was helpful in joining the jigsaw pieces of Danny ' s life together .
Danny became increasingly well known to locals and tourists alike around the Dorset coastline . He even had his own Facebook group dedicated to his antics , so his 4,500 + fans could check up on his whereabouts and share photos . During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 , Danny was frequently sighted around the cruise ships moored in Weymouth Bay , and would pop up alongside the jet ski tour groups around the area .
Days to remember
My first encounter with Danny was back in June 2019 , while RIB diving with friends Jack , Ben , Dan and Kev . That morning we decided to dive at Grove Point because the slack window for the wreck we wanted to dive wasn ’ t until the afternoon . One of our guys hadn ’ t dived for a little while , so it also gave him opportunity to have a shake-out dive in shallower water . We were basically just killing time until what we thought would be the better dive later that day .
We dived as two pairs , with Jack staying on board to cox . Within minutes of descending , we were joined by a dark shadow , which was soon revealed to be a large bottlenose dolphin , gradually approaching closer as we slowly drifted northwards .
Subsequently identified as Danny , this big , beautiful animal remained with us for the entire dive , heading to the surface to entertain Jack , then back down to greet each buddy pair . Danny started playing an entertaining game of hide-and-seek by hanging nose-down behind a diver until their buddy would point him out and they would turn round to find themselves eyeballing the mischievous cetacean .
I soon worked out this game , and so took the opportunity to prepare my camera and wait until I got the ' he ’ s behind you ' signal from my buddy . I then lifted my camera up and managed to get a selfie with Danny in shot behind me . Being on a rebreather , I could have stayed down forever , but decided to come to the surface to ask Jack if he wanted to jump in and have the same encounter . Danny continued to stay with us throughout the safety stop , and played around on the surface while we de-kitted . It was certainly a very memorable dive . And no , I don ’ t remember anything about the afternoon wreck dive , including which dive site it was !
My second encounter with Danny was a month later in July 2019 . I was in Portland with Joint Service Sub Aqua Diving Centre ( JSSADC ) running an Advanced Diver course on board the centre ’ s RIBs and Skindeep hardboat charter . This time I wasn ’ t diving , but acting as supervisor for the second dive of the day in an area known as ‘ crab city ’ close to Portland Bill .
Again within minutes of the divers descending , along came a large bottlenose dolphin , whom I recognised instantly as Danny due to his fearless , friendly behaviour . He was clearly interacting with the divers , so I sent a tag down the divers ’ SMB lines with a note to extend their dive time and enjoy their dive with Danny ! I also sent my camera down to one buddy pair so they could record their encounter . Safe to say the divers were absolutely buzzing when they surfaced !
Tragedy and legacy
This story doesn ’ t have a happy ending . In October 2020 , at only 10 years old , Danny was accidentally killed by a vessel strike . His death reached national news , reflecting his popularity among water users around the South Coast who , like me , all had their tales of the famously friendly dolphin .
Liz Sandeman , co-founder of Marine Connection shed some light on Danny ' s tragic fate : " Due to his inquisitive and boisterous nature , the public fell in love with Danny , however sadly all too often we see that when an individual dolphin becomes habituated to humans , they lose their natural wariness . This puts them in danger , which was the case for Danny .
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