What. The. Fck. Just. Happened??!!
Paddled in from a good session, and was watching my daughter and friend boogie boarding around in the inside/shorebreak. Looking down the beach, I catch a glimpse of something close to shore in the shallows about 50 yards away. Comes up again, it’s a dolphin (we’ll call it D)! At first wasn’t sure, but the hooked dorsal fin, and eventually seeing the long snout made me think I was correct. I’m not a marine biologist, so theres that.
I start heading over that way, so far being the only one noticing. As the water recedes, this dolphin is now effectively beached, flopping side to side in a couple inches of water. A few more beach goers notice, and head over. It appears this dolphin is trying to beach itself or somehow got stuck in the shallows. I’ve always been a ‘leave nature alone’ guy, and thought that if this thing is purposely beaching itself, who am I to interfere? At the same time, if D accidentally did this, I should help a fellow creature (DLM!).
By this time, a few more people have gathered, and are trying to figure out how to help D out. I run up the beach, put my board down (nose down, pointed into the wind so it doesn’t go flying down the beach!), and head back to the scene. I tell the group, ‘hey, can someone call Fish and Game, or Park Rangers, or someone that might be trained
. Didn’t see anyone get their phone out though. Some guy with an 8’ soft top showed up and is trying to get everyone to put the dolphin on the board and push it out. ‘Not going to work’ I said. Somehow, I end up being the guy in charge, probably because I have a wetsuit on, and because the soft top idea failed immediately and I called it. Who knows.
Me and another guy are now trying to pull/carry this 5’-ish creature out to sea. As the surges come in/recede, we time it, finally getting into knee deep water. All of a sudden, it’s just me holding onto D. D has minor wounds, nothing fresh, so doesn’t appear mortally wounded. I’ve never stared into a dolphins eye like that, with it looking back at me. My right hand is holding the area where the tail meets the body, and my left hand is trying to steer it out to sea. D keeps trying to turn back to land, and i keep pushing and steering it back out to sea. I find myself talking to D the whole time, encouraging it to live! Once we are in chest/waist deep water, I get it swimming out. Only to have it turn around again. I block it with my body, turn it around, and start leading it out again. This repeats 3 times, before D finally swims out into deeper water. All together, I was probably wrestling/steering for about 5 minutes. WTF!
As I turn to come in, down the beach another 30 yards is a second dolphin. Holy shetballs!
I overhear someone say, ‘get the guy with the wetsuit’, referring to me, because I have become the freakin Dolphin Whisperer all of a sudden. I head over there, seeing that this D2 is smaller, about 4' long, and has been attacked sometime recently. Bite marks don’t look fresh, but it got hit by something bigger and hungry.
My first thought is that D2 doesn’t look much longer for this life. I take a hold of the tail and drag it out, as the surges allow. Much lighter and weaker than D. Are they related? Fck do I know! I was just trying to enjoy my beach day. Anyway, get D2 out to deeper water, and it keeps turning back in, several times. With D2 I keep thinking, ‘If D2 makes it back out, something will eat it soon enough. Should I just let it die on shore or out there?’ The group of Karens/people behind me answer that for me. So, after several minutes, it disappears into the surf. I can’t see it going out, so I’m thinking the current might have it, or it is going out to sea.
Walk back up the beach to grab my board. I’m not sure what the heck just happened. Tell my daughter I’m headed back to where we are staying about a 1/2 mile away, and start walking down the beach.
About 3/4 of the way back, look up and see something flopping on the shore and beach goers gathering. No. way. Start jogging over. See that it is D2, again. Put my board down, and head over. The current had carried D2 down here. How about that, I’m the only one with a wetsuit here! We go through the same dance again. Except, now we have drifted into more thumping shore break, and I am getting pounded with the poor thing. Several minutes later, D2 is in deeper water, getting carried by current down the beach. I notice another dolphin cruising around between the 1st/2nd sandbar. Is it D? How the hell should I know, but my guess is yes. Figure D2 would end up on the beach again down current.
The ocean has always produced weird and cool shet to be amazed by, but this one was a true WTF!
Paddled in from a good session, and was watching my daughter and friend boogie boarding around in the inside/shorebreak. Looking down the beach, I catch a glimpse of something close to shore in the shallows about 50 yards away. Comes up again, it’s a dolphin (we’ll call it D)! At first wasn’t sure, but the hooked dorsal fin, and eventually seeing the long snout made me think I was correct. I’m not a marine biologist, so theres that.
I start heading over that way, so far being the only one noticing. As the water recedes, this dolphin is now effectively beached, flopping side to side in a couple inches of water. A few more beach goers notice, and head over. It appears this dolphin is trying to beach itself or somehow got stuck in the shallows. I’ve always been a ‘leave nature alone’ guy, and thought that if this thing is purposely beaching itself, who am I to interfere? At the same time, if D accidentally did this, I should help a fellow creature (DLM!).
By this time, a few more people have gathered, and are trying to figure out how to help D out. I run up the beach, put my board down (nose down, pointed into the wind so it doesn’t go flying down the beach!), and head back to the scene. I tell the group, ‘hey, can someone call Fish and Game, or Park Rangers, or someone that might be trained
. Didn’t see anyone get their phone out though. Some guy with an 8’ soft top showed up and is trying to get everyone to put the dolphin on the board and push it out. ‘Not going to work’ I said. Somehow, I end up being the guy in charge, probably because I have a wetsuit on, and because the soft top idea failed immediately and I called it. Who knows.Me and another guy are now trying to pull/carry this 5’-ish creature out to sea. As the surges come in/recede, we time it, finally getting into knee deep water. All of a sudden, it’s just me holding onto D. D has minor wounds, nothing fresh, so doesn’t appear mortally wounded. I’ve never stared into a dolphins eye like that, with it looking back at me. My right hand is holding the area where the tail meets the body, and my left hand is trying to steer it out to sea. D keeps trying to turn back to land, and i keep pushing and steering it back out to sea. I find myself talking to D the whole time, encouraging it to live! Once we are in chest/waist deep water, I get it swimming out. Only to have it turn around again. I block it with my body, turn it around, and start leading it out again. This repeats 3 times, before D finally swims out into deeper water. All together, I was probably wrestling/steering for about 5 minutes. WTF!
As I turn to come in, down the beach another 30 yards is a second dolphin. Holy shetballs!
I overhear someone say, ‘get the guy with the wetsuit’, referring to me, because I have become the freakin Dolphin Whisperer all of a sudden. I head over there, seeing that this D2 is smaller, about 4' long, and has been attacked sometime recently. Bite marks don’t look fresh, but it got hit by something bigger and hungry.
My first thought is that D2 doesn’t look much longer for this life. I take a hold of the tail and drag it out, as the surges allow. Much lighter and weaker than D. Are they related? Fck do I know! I was just trying to enjoy my beach day. Anyway, get D2 out to deeper water, and it keeps turning back in, several times. With D2 I keep thinking, ‘If D2 makes it back out, something will eat it soon enough. Should I just let it die on shore or out there?’ The group of Karens/people behind me answer that for me. So, after several minutes, it disappears into the surf. I can’t see it going out, so I’m thinking the current might have it, or it is going out to sea.
Walk back up the beach to grab my board. I’m not sure what the heck just happened. Tell my daughter I’m headed back to where we are staying about a 1/2 mile away, and start walking down the beach.
About 3/4 of the way back, look up and see something flopping on the shore and beach goers gathering. No. way. Start jogging over. See that it is D2, again. Put my board down, and head over. The current had carried D2 down here. How about that, I’m the only one with a wetsuit here! We go through the same dance again. Except, now we have drifted into more thumping shore break, and I am getting pounded with the poor thing. Several minutes later, D2 is in deeper water, getting carried by current down the beach. I notice another dolphin cruising around between the 1st/2nd sandbar. Is it D? How the hell should I know, but my guess is yes. Figure D2 would end up on the beach again down current.
The ocean has always produced weird and cool shet to be amazed by, but this one was a true WTF!
