|
|
From: Peter Fogg (no email)
Date: Thu Dec 01 2005 - 15:04:12 EST
Have been away; “up the coast” as we say. One of the places we called into
was Forster/Tuncurry (S32° 10’ E152° 31’), twin towns separated by the
entrance to a network of saltwater lakes. This entrance is narrow enough, so
tides rush through it like a river in spate. Dolphins are to be seen
appearing and disappearing from the surface of the water, swimming against
the tide while staying in place, presumably feeding on the inflow of fish.
When it seems their tummies are full they make their way out past the
breakwater and just around the corner to a surfing beach. There they join
the human surfers riding the waves, the dolphins clearly visible just within
the curling arc of water. Can’t see how it serves any practical purpose, so
suspect that they are enjoying themselves just like the humans, surfing for
pure joy.
On another occasion there the surf near the beach was poor, no humans
present, but waves were breaking a little way out to sea, yet still close
enough to the end of one arm of the rock wall that delineates the passage
and extends out to sea. A few dolphins were surfing there, but in a
different style, with the front half of their bodies extending beyond the
rather sloppy breaking waves, much like a human body-surfer. So it seems
that they are accomplished enough surfers to adjust their technique to suit
the conditions. I wonder whether they have learned by imitating the humans,
or if it is the other way around – perhaps they have been surfing for
millennia already. We come across them often enough off the bow of the boat,
although we don’t make enough of a bow wave to be surfed.
What does this have to do with Nav? Well, some may pursue the subject as an
end in itself, but another point of view is that it is a useful tool that
leads to, for example, the watching of dolphins surfing.
|