Day trip by sailing catamaran

ITINERARY: Swim with wild dolphins or just watch

What you WON'T see on this cruise

Dolphins at the back of the boat with their heads out of the water wanting hand outs or the boat going to, chasing and harassing the dolphins. The catamaran will cruise along the coast of Adelaide under auto pilot. When a dolphin pod is spotted, the vessel will move over to within 100m from the pod and continue in a straight line past the pod. It is up to the dolphins to make their way over to the boat.

If they do then its play time, if they don’t then the boat moves on to the next pod. The catamaran skipper gives the dolphins only one chance to interact. When the dolphins decide they want to move away, the boat does not change course to follow them.

People touching the dolphins – these dolphins are wild and will bite if threatened.

The 'Swimmers' swimming over to the dolphins – all swimmers must hold onto a floatation line at all times. This line is connected to the stern of the boat.

RESPECT:
The above rules have given the catamaran crew the respect of the local dolphins.  Part proceeds of the Glenelg Dolphin Swim go to Adelaide Coastal Dolphin Research.

More about Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins are very much misunderstood because of films like 'Flipper' and the wide spread use of bottlenose dolphins in marine parks. This is now changing throughout the world with captive dolphin shows being forced to close.

The feeding of wild dolphins is now banned in most countries although in Australia they still feed dolphins in Western Australia and Queensland for the benefit of overseas tourists.  Dolphins that come to humans for food are called 'semi wild dolphins' and anyone who has seen this practice will notice that the dolphins focus is only on the food bucket. When wild dolphins come to humans it is not to eat but to have fun!
 

Colour: Bottlenose dolphins vary in colour from slate grey to light grey upper parts of the body and shading to white under the belly - the shade of a dolphin is one way of telling dolphins apart
Fins and Flippers: Dolphins fins and flippers are another way of telling dolphins apart. The colour, shape and notches are like finger prints
Length and Weight: (Australian waters) Full grown 2.8m and weigh as much as 270kg
Lifespan: Bottlenose dolphins live between 30-45 years
Hunting: Dolphins generally hunt individually about 50m apart.  When a food source is found all other dolphins in the pod move in and work together
Feeding: Bottlenose dolphins in South Australia eat mainly fish and squid - approximately 8kg per day
Breeding: The female reaches sexual maturity at around 5 years with a gestation period of 12 months. Calving can be year round but in South Australian waters most give birth in February. Calves receive milk from their mothers for about 12-18 months
Threats: The biggest threat to dolphins in South Australia is humans. Most people love dolphins but not all respect them
Dolphin noises: Underwater you can hear the dolphin echo locating which is a series of clicks from the dolphin's melon. This is bounced off objects and back to the lower jaw to give the dolphin a picture of an object. You can also hear high pitched whistles which are peculiar to individual dolphins.