TRAVEL & LEISURE: Swimming With the Dolphins
By Ian MacLeod

I'm back, believe it or not. I said last "issue" (or whatever you call these digital things that are projected into the ether) that my obligation to the Doc was finished and Goodbye, Thank You Very Much. But it's winter in Seattle, as I write, which is always depressing, and this winter it's worse. Rain and wind, rain and wind, rain and wind...and cold...it just won't stop.

Doc hunted me down. Go see this girl, he said. Get warm. Get some pictures. See what they've got.

So he gave me these tickets to Miami and the name of this girl who cooked or something on a boat that went out and looked at dolphins, whales, underwater caves, reefs and whatever...if you've got the money they'll get you where you want to go, as long as it's on the water and within five or six hundred miles of Miami. Anyway, this boat has a really good reputation for doing this sort of thing and has been chartered by National Geographic and IMAX and others for doing really top drawer underwater filming. The boat's name is Ocean Explorer (figures, doesn't it?), is 55' long, fiberglass, has a 17' beam, displaces 38,000 pounds, cruises along at 11 knots and has all the other entertainment and electronic paraphernalia that makes living at sea like living at home. Sort of. Crew is young, alert, professional, and the boat is fully insured.

Looked good to me when I got there, and I did need to relax a bit because the heat and humidity in Miami almost knocked me flat. I was also cramped, pinched and dehydrated from the plane, which seems to be the standard for air travel these days. A miserable experience and I was wishing I hadn't come when I got there. But free is free and warm is warm....

Back to how I got on this boat and into the lap of nautical luxury.... It's the girl, the one who cooks. There's a connection there somehow between her and the Doc and he set it up. Her name is Carol and here's a picture of a buffet she set up for the on-board guests. She has a very good reputation for her cooking (she's a Culinary graduate), and she's not too shabby on deck either. Gets out there and hustles. She grew up in and around boats and seems to know what she's doing.

On a personal basis, the girl? Well, she ain't shy, I can tell you that. In your face, she is, but in a happy way -- she's about happy as you'd expect a girl to be who has no husband to think about and no kids to chase around and who gets on a nice boat in warm, warm Miami and travels throughout the Bahamas and upper Caribbean Islands and swims with dolphins and whales and sharks in warm, warm water. Water which is crystal clear. Hell, I'd be happy too. And she gets paid for it. Man!

Where does this merry group go? Here's a map (chart?) that lays out the general area. In the lower right corner is the Dominican Republic. Just North of it is the Turks and Caicos Islands (although you can't see them on this chart) where they hole up and pick up passengers and then head out to the Silver Bank to look at the whales. We'll get back to them later.

Anyway, first stop out of Miami is usually Bimini, West End up on Grand Bahama Island, or Nassau. Either way you have to cross the Straights of Florida and the Gulf Stream. Yes, the Gulf Stream...it rips along here at several knots bringing warm blue water to the islands of Bimini and Cat Cay. Usually a uneventful 5 hour crossing, but throw in a Northerly wind and you get short, steep seas that'll make the crossing a 10 hour endurance event if you have the stomach for it. Carol says that this happens only occasionally, and not on our trip, I'm pleased to say.

There's not much in Bimini proper except charter boats and restaurants and bars to get drunk in (like the Angler Bar, where Ernest Hemingway is said to have hung out). Carol says the wall diving and shark diving on the nearby reefs is great. From Nassau The Ocean Explorer goes down toward Andros Island to do some cave diving. From West End they usually head over to frolic with the dolphins.

During the summer, the dolphins are on the Little Bahama Banks and are always to be found, so they tell me, most often just cruising around and willing to be looked at and played with. Spotted Atlantic Dolphins is what we the people have named them. Fascinating creatures. Just look at the pictures. Charters love them. Eye contact from a foot away and sly grins. Carol says she has a special dolphin, a female, who likes her particularly and will come if she's in the water. Here's a picture of Carol in the water with the dolphins -- don't know if her buddy is there or not. Carol says her dolphin-friend once carried a bit of Sargasso weed up ahead and then dropped it and waited for Carol to pick it up and carry it ahead, and so on.... And these are wild creatures. Try and get a wolf to do that.

The main attractions at Andros Island are it's deep wall diving and especially it's caves. Thrilling for some people, terrifying for me. Off the reef walls divers see the large sharks (see pix), Moray Eels, big Grouper (Ever eat one? Fantastically good!) and other things that don't look good in the dark. The caves? I don't know why people dive in caves. I don't even like to walk in caves on dry land. And then there are the "Blue Holes" around Andros. These are holes that lead to deep caverns in the underlying limestone, and from the surface appear deeply blue in the otherwise shallow turquoise water. I dunno...seems like a cave to me.

If not Andros Island, Ocean Explorer can cruise over toward Nassau. Tourist traps galore on land, wall diving on the nearby Tongue of The Ocean. From there they sometimes head down the island chain to the Exumas and South. Sport diving all the way, with fantastic reefs, channel cuts between the cays so that when the tide is going out you just jump in with your mask and snorkel and let the water rip you along. The views are stunning, and at the end the inflatable picks you up and it's back to drinks and dinner -- courtesy of Carol.

During the months of January, February and March the Atlantic Humpback Whales travel to warm Caribbean waters to mate and breed in the shelter of the Silver Bank barrier reef. And so goes the Ocean Explorer, working her way down the island chain to the Turks and Caicos as home base. Big fun for all when they anchor the boat over the reef and then use rigid inflatables to watch, listen and dive with these big guys. They're about 40' long and weight in at around 40 tons, which is a lot heavier than the Ocean Explorer, and which also makes you eternally grateful that they (the whales) have a good attitude. You can dive down and watch them and listen to them sing their songs. And they're watching you, thinking...what? Probably, "Bother my calf and your ass is trashed, Man!"

So much for their travels. It's too much fun. If you're a diver, or even just a snorkeler, there is no water in the world that's better than the Bahamas. It's just stunningly beautiful. The crew is fully capable of providing any level of diving experience you desire. Combined with a friendly attitude and some great food, and you have a combination that is hard to beat. After a week onboard, I was ready to face the cold dreary Pacific Northwest once again. For those of you who are interested, here's the specific particulars on the Ocean Explorer and some communication info if you want to check out prices. Get a gang together and everyone chip in and it won't break anyone's bank.

ACCOMMODATIONS   The Ocean Explorer has accommodations for eight passengers and four crew. Two extra-large heads/showers are located in the V-berth area, along with air-conditioned accommodations for four passengers. The galley/dinette is located in the deckhouse, which also accommodates four passengers in two private cabins. The deckhouse provides a spacious air-conditioned room to relax after a day of diving.   The dive deck provides a huge covered work space measuring 20 X 15'. This area can easily accommodate the equipment needs of technical divers and film crews. The wide beam of the vessel makes for a very stable platform while entering and exiting the water. The Ocean Explorer is designed specifically for maximum efficiency during operations in the waters of the Bahamas and Caribbean.

SPECIFICATIONS   VESSEL: 55' Defender L.O.A.: 55' BEAM: 17' DRAFT: 5' DISPLACEMENT: 38,000 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY: 2,000 gallons WATER CAPACITY: 300 gallon tank and 800 g.p.d. water maker POWER: Two 450 hp Detroit 6-71's and two 20kw Northern Lights generators ELECTRONICS: Radar, GPS, color depth sounder, SSB, three VHF's, cell phone ENTERTAINMENT: TV, VCR, stereo/cassette/CD SLEEPING CAPACITY: 8 CREW: 4 CRUISING SPEED: 11 knots CHASE BOAT: 15' rigid inflatable COMPRESSORS: 2 Bauer 7.5 cfm VIDEO: Underwater video camera and lighting package   OCEAN EXPLORER 14 S. Via Lucindia Stuart, Florida 34996-6410 Phone: 561 288 4262 800 338 9383 Fax: 561 288 0183 E-mail: info@oceanexplorerinc.com Website: www.oceanexplorerinc.com