THE DAILY WHALE
Here's the first of what I hope will be many editions of The Daily Whale, a periodical pick-me-up for anyone with an affinity for the sea.

I've been in the water with bottlenose on a number of occassions (and it's always a blast) but this was the first time I'd seen them underwater unexpectedly. On all previous encounters, I'd first seen the dolphins from a boat then dropped into the water... knowing full-well I may or may not see a dolphin, let alone have everything come together well enough for a photograph. This day however... I was hanging on the surface above Lighthouse Bommie, waiting for manta rays to swim by (if the winds and tides are right, manta rays sometimes call in at Lighthouse to be "cleaned") when on the edge of visibility I made out the shapes of the approaching pod. After spluttering a "dolphins" call to my assitant Jen, I was able to watch as they glided by, acknowledging me with a glimpse and a lazy roll, before disappearing. Wow. They were the last thing I expected to see that day.

Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) passing over Lighthouse Bommie,
Lady Elliot Island Great Barrier Reef, Australia