While on the Outer Banks, one thing we did was go on a Dolphin Cruise. These cruises are on small boats inside the sound. They take you out into the protected waters between the barrier islands and the mainland. Going on a Dolphin Cruise was one of the "touristy" things we did.
The easiest day for us to go was on a Tuesday because later in the week we would be fifty miles away in Hattaras and I had pelagics. We had tried to get reservations for Captain Johnny's Dolphin Tours but they were sold out for the day. So we tried a couple of other companies and finally got reservations with Nags Head Dolphin Watch Tours for 3 pm.
We got there early and got our tickets. The boat is docked at Kitty Hawk Kites which is a huge chain with many locations that sell outdoor fun. You can rent jet skis, paddle boards, and boats from them. They will take you on all kinds of excersions like parasailing. Going to a huge franchise was not my first choice. However, it was our only choice. Nags Head Dolphin Tours seems to be associated with Kitty Hawk Kites but what the relationship is, I am not sure.
None the less, we were happy to get on the boat. The trip lasted for a little over two hours. The Captain drove the boat south to where they knew dolphins to be, while a naturalist talked about safety instructions. Once where we were supposed to be, we found dolphins pretty quickly. We watched as five of them fed and swam in some shallow water near an island.
We watched this pod of dolphins for quite some time, maybe forty five minutes. We stayed long enough where the passengers on the boat grew a little bored. Beats me how that happens, but it did.
After watching the dolphins the boat took a detour to the harbor in the town of Wanchese. They gave us a little tour of the harbor with history and explanation of different kinds of boats. This harbor is where Wicked Tuna-Outer Banks is filmed. We were in the little harbor for about fifteen minutes before going back to Kitty Hawk Kites.
Besides the dolphins, a highlight for me was finding a Great Shearwater. Great Shearwaters should be miles offshore and not in a protected sound. It simply did not belong there. None the less, I got some decent photos of it right next to the boat. It was definitely looking for food. Many of the people on board were just tourists looking for dolphins, but there were a few people very excited to see the shearwater. It was a lifer for the few people that cared.
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| Great Shearwater |
All in all, I highly recommend Nags Head Dolphin Tours if you are ever in the area. Both the Captain and the naturalist were named John and they were awesome. John the naturalist had to do a few experiments such as find out the water depth, salinity, water temperature, and wind direction where we found the dolphins and he had little kids help him. The cost was $30 and the trip lasted a little more than two hours, maybe even two and a half. I think seeing dolphins is a sure bet or at least close to it on pretty much any tour or company. However, I have to say Nags Head Dolphin Watch is top notch.
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