Dolphomania!

Today was one of those days that will forever be seared into my memory.  I had an unreal dolphin encounter while surfing at Emma Wood.  Matt and I went out for a morning sesh and got pretty discouraged by the beating we were taking.  I decided to paddle out past the pounding breakers and take a minute to chill.  While catching my breath, I noticed a few dorsal fins in the distance.  Once I determined they were not sharks, I decided to rub the side of my board to make a squeaking sound, not really thinking anything would happen.  Holy hell was I wrong.  The dolphins literally stopped what they were doing, turned 90 degrees toward me and swam full force in my direction.  I distinctly remember saying "ohhhhhhhhhhhhmygod" out loud to myself and immediately propped my feet up on my board...not gonna lie, I was mildly freaking out at the sight of a pod of dolphins b-lining it right at me.

Three of them came up for a breath about 5 feet in front of me and then dove under and surfaced just beyond the tail of my board.  Matt was on the beach watching and told me he saw their grey bodies swimming through the swell under me as I was floating up at the crest.

For the next 15 minutes or so, I continued the board-squeaking and the dolphins continued to check me out, doing all kinds of aerial acrobatics as if they were showing off.  I'm talking full bodied, full frontal, flinging themselves out of the water.  I could hear them coming up for breaths, I could hear them making their echo-locating noises and I could see all the details on their shockingly massive bodies.  I swear I made eye contact with one of them.  I just kept screaming "oh my god! no effing way!" and grabbing my head because I could not believe what was happening around me.

Matt quickly paddled out to get in on the action and we stayed another 30 minutes hanging out with these guys.  There were multiple groups of dolphins, with what I'd estimate at around 15 total going back and forth between their breakfast session and checking us out. 

It's one thing to swim with trained dolphins in a pool at Sea World or see them from about 20 feet up from the deck of a catamaran, but it is a whole other thing to get to interact with them at such a close distance in the wild.

NATURE!!!