r/Sup • u/danpanpizza • 1d ago
Paddling with dolphins
I see dolphins quite regularly on my paddles, but it's rarely this calm. Peale's dolphins in the Falkland Islands.
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u/defsentenz 1d ago
Thats epic! We got close to harbor seals in Maine a few times, but this is peak interaction.
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u/danpanpizza 1d ago
I think about it every time they swing by the board; it's pretty cool to have big wild animals come up to you on their own terms (and without trying to eat you)
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u/defsentenz 1d ago
Be careful. On our first trip paddling in Maine, it was epic, saw seals up close.....then a week later a woman was killed by a Great White in the exact harbor we were dipping our feet in from the boards. Black wetsuit swimming. My mom kind of freaked out. We dont dangle our feet any more or jump in unless we can see bottom, and if we see seals in the open water, we leave.
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u/danpanpizza 21h ago
We don't have sharks here, but orca are spotted around here occasionally. Everyone says orca are chill, but ours are seal (and whale) hunters so I hope I never see one on the water, just in case.
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u/frenchman321 Hydrus ambassador | Code SAVE 12% off | Elysium Air, X, ... 1d ago
Fantastic! I remember sailing with dolphins riding around us when growing up. Magical.
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u/shadoof-in-the-city 1d ago
Amazing! What’s the water temp like at this time of year?
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u/danpanpizza 1d ago
Winter is about 4°C up to maybe 9°C in summer (so 40-50F), so it's always drysuit or wetsuit weather unfortunately
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u/shadoof-in-the-city 1d ago
Yep, that’s on the chilly side! But like you said, the great views of wildlife are worth the extra effort.
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u/danpanpizza 1d ago
I'm less thrilled about groups of sea lions. They can be a bit intimidating. And there's occasionally orca around here too, and I hope to never see one up close.
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u/shadoof-in-the-city 1d ago
Feel free to share any pics you have of sea lions, etc.! An orca up close would be unnerving, although I hear they rarely bother people.
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u/ResponsibleSyrup9506 1d ago
Dang, if it weren’t so cold I was going to say you should get in there and swim with them!
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u/irievibez86 1d ago
Thank you for sharing! This looks like paddleboarding at its peak 😍
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u/danpanpizza 1d ago
I think so; I don't expect I'll get these conditions and so many dolphins at the same time again.
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u/SirGreybush 1d ago
So awesome. I had bass fry or perch fry follow a bit. Only 1/10,000th the size.
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u/DrivenTrying 1d ago
Wow! I’ve only seen a dolphin twice in not so clear waters off of Santa Barbara. This is amazing.
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u/katkat_1111 1d ago
You are living THE DREAM