TRAVELSPECIAL
PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD
A common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, porpoising at the surface to breathe. Coll, Inner Hebrides mostly in the Tromsø and Finnmark regions.
It is not an easy proposition. The water is clear, but daylight is at a premium so everything is dark, and of course very cold( 4-7 ° C in the water, colder above). You’ ll be in the hands of local experts who interpret the behaviour of the orcas – mostly you’ ll be jumping in the water as they swim by, so again this is a snorkel-only trip. If you get very lucky, you may find the orcas feeding on herring, which means you get more time with them and a chance to witness their feeding strategies. The trick is to get close enough to the vast schools to witness the behaviour, but not to get in the way.
It’ s possible to do this in a drysuit, but some experts recommend extremely close-fitting neoprene wetsuits, the style favoured by freedivers. Brrrr!
Bringing it all back home
Let’ s evaluate the UK as a dolphin destination. On paper, we do pretty well. After all, we have the northernmost pods of bottlenose dolphins in the world, in Scotland’ s Moray Firth. You’ re not allowed swim with them, but you can view them from the comfort of land at Chanonry Point, Fortrose. It’ s one of the UK’ s best wildlife experiences.
Common and bottlenose dolphins are sometimes encountered around the Channel Islands across the South Coast and around Cardigan Bay in Wales. Anyone heading offshore in the summer months is liable to enjoy a sighting of common dolphins, a fine omen for a day’ s diving.
Otherwise, the old adage holds true – the more time you spend in the water, the more likely you are to see something cool. My technical diving friends all have stories of cetacean visitations on deco stops. And many of my fellow photographers have told of surprise night-time encounters with habituated dolphins off Babbacombe Beach or around Portland.
As for me, I’ ve seen common dolphins from boats on the way to Lundy and in the Sound of Mull. My only in-water sighting came while snorkelling in perfect conditions 17 miles south of Penzance, looking for blue sharks. True to their nature, the dolphins approached to within 10 metres and then went on their way, curiosity satisfied. A fleeting moment in a vast sea, but one that will live with me for the rest of my days. �
A common dolphin leaps clear of the sea
PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD
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