What dolphins think is cool

Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Many of us have sailed and have had dolphins frolic of the bow wave. We think its cool, and assume the dolphins to do. Well not really. THIS is what dolphins think is cool.
virginiaclassanddolphins.jpg
 

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
8,019
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
The young ones can be real "brats" too. Probably a teenager daring a parent to a race.
Jim...
 
Jun 2, 2007
404
Beneteau First 375 Slidell, LA
Sure looks like a lot of water resistance on top of the sail on that boat. (?)
 
Nov 6, 2006
10,210
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Always a pleasure to se them playing/surfing the pressure wave .. In the sound between the Gulf Islands and the Mississippi coast we usually see lots of them playing on the incoming and outgoing ships bow waves; I have seen 6-8 jumping at once just in front of the bow bulbs.. We have some acrobats too that naturally do air flips and spins, apparently just for fun..
Sandy Stone.. it must be one of those wing sails like the America's Cup boats sport.. probably a bugger to adjust the camber!
 

Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
They retract those sail-top sensors when underwater.
I bet they retract the crew on top, too. Shoot, he's probably even one of those new self-retracting models.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,432
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I can imagine how spooky it would feel to be the only person standing on that conning tower and have somebody close the hatch on you.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,534
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Cool pic! Dolphins are said to bring good luck.
I think I'd be banging on that hatch real hard if I saw those towers going down behind me!

We used to pull gags on guys back in our F4 Phantom days. Someone was always required to crawl into the intakes to check for FOD before we started them up. We'd sometimes attach the ground screens over the intakes while they were down there. Very disconcerting!
 
Dec 28, 2010
462
Catalina 380 san pedro
Justin....so that was you that fenced me in...LOL*..I was thinking that those two dolphins were saying "Holy Crap that guy is big...swim for it...."
 
Oct 26, 2010
2,214
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
Many of us have sailed and have had dolphins frolic of the bow wave. We think its cool, and assume the dolphins to do. Well not really. THIS is what dolphins think is cool.
View attachment 136681
Spent many an hour as officer of the deck, surfaced leaving Charleston with them playing on the bow wave. They would sometimes jump across the bow from one side to the other. Never got tired of it.
 
May 24, 2004
7,213
CC 30 South Florida
Took a ten day sailing trip in the Long Island Sound years ago and one afternoon near Montauk I could see this vessel coming in from sea and it was putting out this large bow wave. About 30 minutes latter I was able to identify it was indeed a submarine heading for home in Connecticut.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,982
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
We see them, submarines, off New London all the time. I've posted this before but in one Off Soundings Fall Regatta the sub cut the fleet in half. The skipper waited a while while the Coasties yelled at all the boats trying to cross. And they had a loaded, manned machine gun on the bow. The Sub skipper saw an opening and put the petal to the metal and he was gone. We're not supposed to know how fast they go, but believe me when they hit the go button, they go. I'll bet that sub was doing 20 knots in 3 or 4 boat lengths. Awesome. All the racers who didn't cross where then in a cruise mode. The race was over for them.
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,973
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
Its a Virginia-class Fast Attack boat. They retract those sail-top sensors when underwater.
Since the terminology is the same for a Virginia, Los Angeles, Sturgeon, Skipjack and Ben Franklin we call them masts. :) Can't speak for the other classes as I was never on one of those (e.g. Permit/Thresher, or Skate [2 screws are better than one]). One time when leaving Sardinia we had dolphins blasting through the bow wave and it was pretty cool to watch as the live view is even better than the picture.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Since the terminology is the same for a Virginia, Los Angeles, Sturgeon, Skipjack and Ben Franklin we call them masts. :) Can't speak for the other classes as I was never on one of those (e.g. Permit/Thresher, or Skate [2 screws are better than one]). One time when leaving Sardinia we had dolphins blasting through the bow wave and it was pretty cool to watch as the live view is even better than the picture.
I have heard it called both. But mostly sail.

 
May 12, 2004
1,505
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
I have heard it called both. But mostly sail.
I'll second that. I was stationed at the New London Sub Base some 47 years ago and worked on the nukes though not as a submariner. My dad worked building subs at the General Dynamics Electric Boat division in Groton when I was a kid. If my memory serves me correctly, the conning tower was mostly referred to as the sail.
BTW, where are the numbers on the sub in the first post?