[Times photo: Douglas Clifford]
While on a private Dolphin Excursion off the Biminis in the Caribbean, 18-year old Hannah Simmons of Austin, Texas, swims with a wild spotted juvenile. Download this photo as your PC wallaper
BIMINI, Bahamas - Every trip starts with a disclaimer.
"These are wild dolphins," Bill Keefe said. "There are no guarantees."
Unlike some Florida attractions, where swimmers interact with dolphins in a controlled setting, Keefe's trips count on the cooperation of the marine mammals in the open water.
"They have to want to come around," said Keefe as he motored his charter boat out to the Dolphin Grounds north of Bimini. "They have gotten used to us and usually come by to take a look, but if you want a sure thing, this trip is not for you."
Bottlenose dolphins, the species most often used in stateside "dolphin encounters," are easily trained once in captivity but seldom interact with humans in their natural environment.
Spotted dolphins, the species targeted in Keefe's Wild Dolphin Excursions, don't do well in captivity but love to play with humans in the open sea.
Since 1996, when the American-born Keefe and his Bahamian wife, Nowdla, began ferrying tourists out to swim with the dolphins, they have enjoyed an 80-percent success rate.
Keefe charges $120 for the four-hour snorkeling excursion, slightly higher than scuba divers pay for most two-tank dive trips in the Florida Keys.
Spotted dolphins (named for the spots on the bodies of adults) are common in offshore waters, particularly the Caribbean. They are smaller than bottlenose dolphins and live in family groups called pods that may have as many as 50 members.
On this particular summer afternoon, Keefe had a full boat, and at his first stop in 30 feet, three dolphins - two adults and one juvenile - buzzed through swimmers, then disappeared.
"We have a few more spots that we can hit," Keefe said. "They usually come through, take an initial look, then come back."
At the second stop, the same three dolphins swam by for a visit but quickly lost interest. Back on board, two graduate students, one of them a psychology major, made note of the time and location of the encounter and recorded the comments of some of the swimmers.
Motoring to the next spot, I asked Keefe about sharks.
"We have had one big tiger shark crusing around lately," he said. "But where you find sharks, you usually don't find dolphin and where you find dolphin you usually don't find sharks."
The third spot had pretty much the same results: a fleeting glimpse of dolphins, then nothing. By now, we were losing daylight, and Keefe knew that it soon would be too dark to have swimmers in the water.
"We could try something else," Keefe said. "It involves dragging behind the boat on a rope."
Dragging a body through waters frequented by a large tiger shark - sounds like trolling to me.
"I'll do it," I told Keefe. "Sounds like fun."
Keefe threw a single line with three "hand loops" off the stern. I grabbed the one closest to the boat thinking a shark probably would hit the last person on the line.
Then, as we started moving about 10 mph, I thought about all the king mackerel and billfish I had seen take baits dangled just a few feet off the boat in the prop wash.
But before my imagination could get the best of me, two small spotted dolphins appeared out of nowhere and began swimming beneath me. I touched their smooth bodies, then both turned on their backs to get a better look at me. Swimming with their light-colored bellies less than a foot from mine, they appeared to be smiling, but they made noises that sounded nothing like Flipper.
The dolphins swam with me a minute, chattering away, then I felt the sudden urge to communicate. Since I didn't speak dolphin, I tried to sing. But when I did, my mouth filled up with water, so I started to hum.
My newfound friends loved it. They especially liked the children's songs.
"How did it go?" Keefe said.
"Great," I said. "We really communicated."
The psychology student gave me a funny look.
"They like my singing," I said as she jotted notes on her pad. "I think Baa Baa Black Sheep is their favorite."
If you go
Keefe's Bimini Undersea runs spotted dolphin trips two or three days a week. Call 1-800-348-4644 or 305 653-5572. E-mail info@biminiundersea.com or visit biminiundersea.com.
