We stopped at rainbow reef for lunch and a swim. Saw a large sea turtle on the way to the mooring.

As we went in to check out the colorful fish and coral formations of the reef below us, a school of sergeant majors (small yellow and black striped fish) darted around the back of the boat. Closer to the bottom at about twenty feet, schools of french grunt and yellowtail snapper waited for us facing the current and just hanging out.

A little further under the rocks were lobster, squirrel fish and a filefish trying to disguise himself as a vertical piece of sea grass. A bit farther onto the reef a huge coral formation rises up from the ocean floor surrounded by more brightly colored fish and a stingray almost completely covered up in sand with only his eyes and tail showing.

Back aboard the DolphinQuest we finished our lunch and slowly moved out onto the banks to look for our dolphin friends. People napping, chatting with new friends, or simply immersed in the rhythm of the sea as we moved further from the tiny island of Bimini and out into what we call the “Dolphin grounds”. A few minutes later Vijan calls down from his spotting station to change course to 340 degrees. I ask him how far away they are and he says two to three hundred yards. In 10 minutes we hear people on the front of the boat scream “DOLPHINS!” Oohs and ahhs and squeals of joy as a baby spotted dolphin jumps out of the water just ten feet in front of the boat. He is soon joined by his mother and the rest of the pod.