DOTTIE

Dottie is a porpoise. Some would refer to her as a dolphin but as I wrote in an earlier blog, a dolphin is a fish while a mammal that resembles Flipper is a porpoise. To anyone who has spent any amount of time on the ocean porpoise are in a league all their own. Often they can be seen from the shore while frolicking in the surf but generally they travel off shore. Sometimes you see stragglers of a few at a time and other times see them as far as you can see in all directions around your boat. If you come across them at night it can be quite startling as if there are torpedoes all around you traced by sprays of phosphorus.

When traveling you first see splashes on the horizon. If you are lucky they are moving in a direction that will cross paths with you. They will detour for a time to keep you company then they will be on their way. If you are very lucky they will be traveling the same direction you are, at about the same speed, and will stay with you for long periods of time. As many times as this has happened to me I always considered myself privileged to witness one of God’s great spectacles starring one of his special creatures.

When I was a kid I used to lay on the bow of the boat, with my head over the side, and stare down into the deep, purple-blue water, for as long as the school would stay with us. Some would ride the waves of our wake, playfully jumping, hanging in the air, and then splashing back into the water. Others would ride the bow waves and those I could almost touch. I felt like I established a bond with some as they would often turn on their side and look up at me. Even when they veered off for a while the crystal clear water allowed me to follow their path until they eventually returned. Occasionally a mother porpoise with a baby hugging its side would gracefully move as one among the school.

It is well known that they possess superior intelligence, have unimaginable navigational skills and human-like instincts. They are constructed as though God said “Let’s see if we can design the perfect ocean borne creature”. They have such speed that I have come upon them in a boat making 30 knots and for a short period of time, they will ride our wake or bow wave with that smirk on their face as if to say “Is that all you’ve got?” Sailors, seamen and fisherman alike consider them lucky and often times schools of albacore and tuna will travel with them.

As I am sure you can tell I have a love affair with porpoise and their kin, orca and whales. The Michael Jackson song in the closing scene of Free Willy gets me every time. For all these reasons I was moved when my daughter Romy sent me the story of Dottie told in the linked video. If you did not see it, please take a moment to watch this heartwarming story.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/doctors-to-dolphin-s-rescue-21249002