No one knows why they do it – but when they get going, it’s like they’re in a full-blown race.
About 500 common dolphins woke up the waters and started sprint swimming off the coast of Dana Point on Thursday, providing a rare treat for charter passengers aboard a Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari boat.
“It was a good-sized pod. They were just swimming and all of a sudden took off,” Dave Anderson, owner of the boating company, said. “When they take off like this, it’s like someone fired a gun. They go from swimming along peacefully to like they are in a race to see how fast they can go.”
Anderson said no one knows why they do this. Maybe something in the water spooks them. Or maybe it’s just for fun.
But one thing is for sure – it’s rare to see such a sight. The last time Anderson’s boat encountered one this large was about two years ago, and there was a smaller one last year.
“Whenever it happens, passengers are screaming, it’s so exciting,” he said. “I guess you can say it’s like being in a stampede of horses. You’re able to be in the middle of it without being afraid they are going to trample you.”
The dolphins can go in short bursts up to about 17 knots, Anderson said.
“It’s super exciting and exhilarating to be around these animals when they are charging up and down the coast like they were,” he said.
The latest stampede was seen about three miles off the coast of Dana Point. Porpoising they way they do –flying out of the ocean’s surface – is the fastest mode of travel for dolphins because there is less resistance in air than water.
Southern California has the greatest density of dolphins per square mile of anywhere on Earth, including nearly 450,000 common dolphins. Dana Point is one of the best places in the world to see large mega-pods that can number in herds of up to 10,000.
Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com
