Capt. Larry Hartmann has watched thousands of bottlenose dolphins ride the bow of his 30-foot boat, but until Friday he had never seen the mammals develop such a close personal bond with one of his passengers.
The accompanying footage shows several dolphins swimming to the outstretched hand of Taylor Carty and looking her in the eye, and taking turns rolling over, as if craving to have their bellies rubbed.
"We've all see bottlenose dolphins riding the bow and at times jumping and twirling, but I have never seen them doing the backstroke like this," said Hartmann, whose vessel Discovery runs from Dana Wharf Whale Watching in Dana Point, California. "It was so far off the charts. I've never seen anything like it."
Carty is an exercise rider for thoroughbred race horses in Kentucky, so she has a way with animals, and it wasn't long before she earned the nickname, "Dolphin whisperer."
"She started talking to them the way she talks to horses," said Hartmann, who operates Captain Larry Adventures. "All four of the passengers were freaking out. When the dolphins turned over like that, it seemed clear that they wanted to be rubbed."
While the footage may seem lengthy and repetitive to some, it's remarkable that this interaction–with so many intimate approaches–lasted so long. "It went on for more than an hour," Hartmann said. "I filmed for 17 minutes and stopped only because I realized I was going to have to edit all the footage."
Hartmann said that despite what impressions people might have, the dolphins were not touched. He added that Carty was straddling the bow pulpit, in "an uncomfortable manner," but was not in danger of falling overboard.
The Discovery skipper gave credit to the captain of the Dana Pride, which also runs from Dana Wharf, for locating the pod of perhaps 40 offshore bottlenose dolphins.
The Discovery, which carreies up to six passengers, is a new arrival in Dana Point and caters to clients who don't mind paying more to avoid crowds on larger whale-watching boats.
While passengers on smaller boats sometimes enjoy more intimate encounters, nobody should expect anything this intimate.
–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor
Encounters like this are not so far off, in the wild, dolphins are very friendly unless provoked and feel they must protect. I have had many such encounters, in which one of my fellow snorkelers was actually nuzzled on the belly by a infantile dolphin. It was beautiful and very gentle. Though it is never a good idea to touch these amazing beings, if they engage, it is usually mutual respect. They touch with sound, sonar... and it is amazing too.
On more than one occasion, a dolphin swam beside me, looked into my eyes and one even gave me dolphin diving lessons... but when I got tired put me with the mothers and babies...I got the message!!!
Posted by: Eve D. | Jan 28, 2014 at 01:42 PM
Courtney and I met Larry at the Dana Point Harbor in October. He had just moved his boat and was outfitting it for his tours. Next time I go to Dana Point, I will go on his boat.it's a magical experience to be on the water and connect with these special dolphins.
Posted by: cynthia Bellini | Jan 27, 2014 at 07:20 PM