My wife and I were on the harbor sailing about 1 AM last weekend and we
lost the
wind. We were kind of drifting along on the light
current and were surrounded by
dolphins. Some we could see in the moonlight, and some we just heard as they came up to breathe. As time went by (I really didn't want to ruin it by starting the engine) we became aware of a more subtle sound. I noticed it first as it seemed to come from the transom, and as we started listening closer for it we realized that it was dolphin sonar. It was all around us and it sounded like cats purring in bursts of about 1 second each. It was really noticeable when you went below. The sound really carried through the
hull. We spent nearly an hour listening as the
dolphins in every direction were using their sonar and coming to the surface.
I have never heard that before. I'm not sure if they use their sonar as much during the day or if it is something you only experience at night, but it was sure wonderful.
We have been going out at night as much as possible ever since we experienced bioluminescent trails when we sailed the
pacific northwest. There are more hazards at night, but there are also wonderful experiences you just never have in daylight. Here closer to the equator our night experiences are different than they were up north, but we still enjoy the night.