Dolphins, the "Humans" of the Sea

Of course I knew I would experience dolphin sightings when I moved here on the North Carolina Coast. I was not, however, prepared for how often I would see these lovely creatures.

The first time I caught a glimpse of a dolphin, was while standing at the end of the Bogue Pier on Emerald Isle. The creature was pretty far out, but I could see it weaving in and out of the water, and I was instantly mesmerized. I thought I was pretty lucky that day.

But it soon became apparent, that dolphin sightings would become a weekly joy for me. I walk the shores, at different locations, almost every day. I would say at least half of the time, I am accompanied on my walk, by dolphins, and/or I accompany them on their "swims". The frustrating thing being, when I would bring my camera and zoom lens, I would never see any dolphins, and on days that I would not bring my camera, they would be there.

On one particular day in December, i spotted two dolphins swimming off the shores of Emerald Isle. They were slow swimming that day, so I followed them down the shore. I instinctively felt that if I followed them, they would eventually come closer into shallow waters.

I was right. Half way to the Point of Emerald Isle, at least four of these dolphins started to ride the waves, bringing them closer to shore. Now I don't know if you have even seen a dolphin riding a wave, but it is the most beautiful and spiritual thing I have ever seen. Right before the wave crashes, you catch a glimpse of the dolphin, full-bodied, inside of the wave moving forward.

I ran out, fully clothed, into the cold December waters of the Atlantic, to get as close as I possibly could to these creatures, thinking the whole time, "Why didn't I bring my camera?". I did however get video on my cell phone. At one point, a dolphin joined a building wave and the wave was coming right for me, dolphin encased as if he were coming to greet me. It was exhilarating.

On another occasion, most recently, I awoke before the crack of dawn to greet the sunrise on the beach and hopefully capture some good images.

Yes I brought my camera on this particular morning. I was the only person on the beach that morning. It was a bit spooky in a cool sense - to have something so massive as the ocean in front of you, and to stand there alone, in the breaking dawn.

As the dark-blueish black sky started to warm with hues of pinks and oranges, I started snapping away. Something in my view caught my attention so i lowered my camera to see what had to have been a dozen or more dolphins, lapping in and out of the waters. I was in total awe, I had never seen such a large gathering of dolphins. Some were very close to me near the shallow waters, some where further away. Of course I walked out into the waters to get as close as I could, realizing at that moment, that I had only brought my wide angle lens, and NOT my zoom.

Half of the sun had already made it's debut over the waters, revealing more dolphins. One dolphin, who was riding one wave into the next, seemed to stop and hover over a wave bank, facing me directly. The waves kept lapping this dolphin, but it remained still, facing straight at me. I lowered my camera, and stood still, facing it, wondering if the dolphin was checking me out...wondering what he would do next. It was a moment frozen in time, all of 20 seconds passed before the dolphin turned and swam away.

For centuries, dolphins have been thought of as "The Humans of the Sea", and their high intelligence levels have been documented by science. They have been written about as Gods or descendants of Gods in Greek Mythology and in other ancient cultures as protectors of man. There are accounts from this modern day, to centuries ago, of dolphins helping drowning swimmers, nudging them ashore, or surfers who would have been victims of shark attacks, had it not been for dolphins swarming the area and "butting" the would-be attacker.

They are the social, seemingly curious and highly intelligent beings of the sea. There is something majestic and magical about them. They notice us, we notice them, there is a connection.

Maybe that connection is lost while one is doing nothing but snapping away with their camera, trying to get the best shot of these gorgeous mammals of the sea. So I think to myself, maybe God just wants me to watch, to enjoy, to be part of the beauty and immerse myself in the magic that radiates from these magnificent creatures !