Wild Party

That must have been one heck of a party they went to last night.

Spinner Dolphins cannot sleep, so they rest by swimming back and forth in a trance-like state with one eye closed. The sixty-plus dolphins which repeatedly swam by me this morning were completely out of it. They even ignored the tour boats which usually get them leaping from the water and spinning in the air. It was so infectious that I almost began dozing off myself.

Click HERE for many more photos from today's encounter.

Oh, and Click HERE for a video of the slumberfest (don't fall asleep).

Swam and Swam and Swam

Wow, Merley, you are amazing. From barely being able to swim, to swimming the entire distance of our Sunday course, and against a wicked current too. Wow! Now that is dedication.

We spent the early part of our swim chatting and catching up. Then we looked around and noticed that we had reached the halfway point of the swim. Without swimming. Uh oh. The current was really running strong.

The sea bottom only inched by as we swam and swam and swam and swam. I thought of swimming to shore and walking back, but even the shore looked too far away. Everyone made it back, eventually. Somehow.

Click HERE for more photos from this morning's swim.

Courageous Souls

Wild and crazy.

A gale was blowing big wave tops into frothy, stinging spray this morning. Even so, a daring band of more than forty Spinner Dolphins braved the hazardous conditions to join me on my ocean swim today. What courageous souls they were, to risk life and limb just to keep me company. I commend their valor.

Click HERE for many more photos from this morning's encounter.

That's A-Moray

Why do Moray Eel mouths seem so horribly threatening in person? All I could focus on was the white mouth and sharp teeth this morning, but in the photo it almost looks harmless. I only dare get this close when my big underwater camera housing is between me and the eel.

Spotted Eagle Rays, on the other hand, don't frighten me in the least, even though one killed "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin a couple of years ago. Go figure.

Stinging Spray

The wind was howling and the waves were rocking and rolling for my ocean swim this morning. My co-swimmers didn't seem to mind though. They were enjoying getting tossed around even more than I was. Click HERE for lots more photos from today's swim.

Fun, Funner, Funnest

Overheard today, "Oh, no. We must be swimming very slowly, we are with the fun group."

And the fun group is even more fun in warm water. No longer is everyone urgently driven to keep moving by numb fingers, blue lips and chattering teeth. Instead every excuse is found to play and then play some more.

Click HERE for more photos from this morning's fun swim.

Yes, Dear

Today was my last day of temporary bachelorhood (spousal vacation) so I indulged myself with a movie marathon.

Everything from blow-em-up sci-fi to romantic comedy to indie low-budget Argentinian.

I even made it out my front door for fifteen minutes to watch the sun set.

And now, before I go to bed, I need to get some practice in: "Yes, dear." "You are right and I was wrong, dear." "Yes, dear." "Yes, dear."

Happy Birthday, Patti

Women are much more exciting swimmers. At least my women friends are.

The guys usually just want to swim from Point A to Point B. The gals, on the other hand, want to explore caves while waves are smashing and to grab sharks by the tail. Never a dull moment, and Patti's birthday swim this morning was no exception. No luck with the sharks though. Their tails kept slipping through our fingers.

Click HERE for more photos from today's swim.

Oh Wait

Why can't every morning be like this?

Oh, wait.

That's right . . . every morning is exactly like this.

I love living on Maui

Totally Unacceptable

You are not going to believe this. In fact, if my buddy Tillie (photo above) had not been there to see it with me, I probably wouldn't have believed it. We saw a Humpback Whale breaching this morning not far offshore.

Don't the whales know that their Maui reservations are only good through mid-April? After that they should be on their way back to Alaska, if not there already.

This is pure craziness. The next thing you know they will be doing something totally unacceptable, like wearing white after Labor Day.

Or They Will Find Me

I swam through massive schools of two different kinds of small fish this morning. I kept looking for the predators which usually follow large gatherings of "bait fish" but couldn't spot them. They're out there, I'm sure of it, and I will find them . . . eventually.

O'Fish'al Camera Guy

George did his annual birthday swam dive from the jumping-off rock. In years past, I must admit, it took all my courage to jump from this rock - diving was entirely out of the question. Thank goodness I am now the o'fish'al camera guy whose job is to record the jumps, not to make them.

Click HERE for more photos from this morning's outing with the Maui Pink Cap Swimmers.

Really Rather Swim

I think I've only purchased one car in my entire life which cost as much as one of these one-man outrigger canoes. Yes, they look like they might be mildly entertaining to play with, but I would really rather swim.

Zoom Zoom

These guys zoomed past me at high speed this morning. I kept looking behind me to see if they were running from something bad. If they were, I was lucky that it decided to leave me alone.

Quandary About Captives

I sometimes work as a property manager.

One of my clients called in a huge panic today. There were fingerprints on all of their sliding glass doors near the handles. Oh no! Someone had been trying to break into their house while they were out.

After a moment's examination I pointed out to them that all the fingerprints were on the inside of the glass.

Now I am in a quandary. Have they secretly been holding captives who tried to escape leaving their desperate fingerprints on the glass? Should I report them to the police? Or should I find out first whether their prisoners are good guys or bad guys?

The life of a property manager . . . filled with all kinds of difficult decisions . . .

True Grit

Covering yourself with sand isn't just for camouflage.

Imaging taking a bite of this turtle and getting a mouthful of sand as well. Now that's true grit. Yuck. Ptui.

In The Clique

Maybe there is something to my Dolphin Dude mystique.

I had a great ocean swim with the Maui Pink Cap Swimmers this morning. We saw two Manta Rays and a Spotted Eagle Ray. We almost never see dolphins, but today a pod of about 24 Spinner Dolphins swam up to me to say "Hi!" But only to me and the two swimmers who were with me. The other thirty-plus swimmers never got to see them.

Click HERE for lots more photos from this morning's swim including the Calgary crowd.

Blackmail is Good

Sometimes people need a little encouragement to motivate them to do the right thing.

That is definitely the case for property developers here on Maui. And the many endangered Hawaiian Stilts I saw today in a restored pond thank them for their "voluntary" efforts.

Special Treat for You

I know that you're all sick and tired of my recent spate of dolphin photos - so today I have a Special Treat for you. Yes, in addition to the usual photographs of today's encounter with forty Spinner Dolphins - I also took Video! Click HERE or below for today's video.

And, of course, you can click HERE for photographs of the dolphins with which I swam this morning.

Stymied

I am not feeling very creative today, so this photo which I took on my morning walk along the shore will have to go without a caption.

In Shallow Water

Sometimes I wonder why I call my blog Dolphin Dude. Not recently though. Today over thirty Spinner Dolphins kept me company.

In the past couple weeks they have been visiting me during my ocean swims at several different locations. Not only that, but they've also been swimming unusually close to shore. Sometimes in water so shallow that I get concerned that they may be considering beaching themselves. So far, no problems. It is probably just a seasonal thing. Kind of like me and long hair.

Click HERE for lots more photos from this morning's encounter.

Changing Climate

The climate is changing. No question about it.

This afternoon, here in the desert, lightening was flashing and thunder was booming. And the rain came flooding down. Here in the desert.

When we moved here twenty years ago, you could rely on clear skies and dry weather. Not any more. The past couple of years everything has turned on its head.

Not that I have any problem with green fields spotted with thousands of wildflowers. Not at all. I'm just saying that the climate is changing.

Forever Summer

I really like it when the water warms up for the summer. Everything gets much more relaxed and fun. I even get to hang out with the group.

During the winter everyone swims hard to keep warm, and I swim even harder in an attempt to keep up (often a losing battle). I hope that this year summer stays forever.

Click HERE for more photos from this morning's swim.