The first sign is usually what looks like a concentrated patch of whitecaps on the surface of the water a half mile or so from the boat. As the spots of white get closer, it's possible to see streaks of black in the waves, also.

Pretty soon, it's obvious who's coming for a visit - dolphins!

Several times, we've had a pod of dolphins swing by to check out our boat. They seem to be having a great time - swinging back and forth in the water as they ride the bow wake. The pods seem to be 40-50 dolphins in total.

Once they leave (probably headed back the direction they were originally headed, and probably also disappointed in how slowly our boat is sailing), Angie identifies the species using our Marine Mammals of the World book. The first pod we saw near the California coast were the short-beaked common dolphin. Today, we were visited by a group of pantropical spotted dolphins.

Hope we get more visits!

Day Eleven: 116nm
Position: 23 22'N 145 12'W