忘れられないイルカとの出会い

　フロリダ半島東方に浮かぶ島国バハマは英連邦の加盟国で、正式名称は Commonwealth of The Bahamas です。今回の旅の筆者は、バハマの首都ナッソーから出港し、グランド・バハマ島の北西沖に広がるホワイト・サンド・リッジを目指して、ヨットの旅に出かけました。

　途中、経由するアバコ諸島について、本文中に「グレート・アバコ島、リトル・アバコ島のほか、ブーメランのような形をした多数の cays からなる」と書かれています。この cay とは、サンゴ礁の上に形成された小さな島のことで、「キー」と発音します。

　アバコ諸島の北西の端に位置するウォーカーズ・キーには、暗くなってから到着したため、リトル・バハマ・バンクに停泊して夜の海で遊泳します。この場合の bank とはこの一帯に広がる広大な浅い海域のことです。

　ここで bioluminescence という見慣れない単語が出てきます。訳語は「生物発光」。こう聞いてハタとひざを打った方も多いのでは？そうです。10月にノーベル化学賞を受賞した「クラゲ博士」下村脩さんの研究分野ですね。

　目的地のホワイト・サンド・リッジも、本文中にある通り、浅瀬になっている場所で、イルカが頻繁に見られることで有名です。（真）

　As I was diving in the Bahamas, a dolphin approached me from my right side, and we made eye contact that seemed to last for hours.

　When I finally ran out of breath and couldn’t follow it underwater any longer, the friendly dolphin moved on, leaving me with a parting glimpse of its tail swimming off into the blue.

　My encounter with a spotted dolphin in White Sand Ridge, in the north Bahamas, made the long sea voyage all worthwhile. We were sailing over 10 days through the Bahamas, in the northeast Caribbean Sea around the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama Island, on the way to White Sand Ridge.

　The crew, some friends and I had left Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on board a 12-meter sailboat to the Abaco Islands, our first stop.

　The Abaco Islands comprise Great Abaco Island, Little Abaco Island and a necklace of dozens of smaller cays, shaped like a boomerang, in the northernmost end of the Bahamas. The Hope Town lighthouse, its white and red stripes contrasting with the bright green waters of the bay, welcomed us to this friendly town in the Abaco Islands. After 48 hours of sailing, it was nice to be anchored within sight of land, with views of coconut trees and shops and houses painted in pink, light blue or white colors.

　The next morning we left for Walker’s Cay in the northwest end of the Abaco Islands. We had a very pleasant crossing, with favorable winds coming from the Atlantic, and arrived there earlier than expected. We didn’t want to approach the low island at night, so we anchored in Little Bahama Bank, swimming in the sea at night and enjoying the green lighting effect when we stirred the water. This was due to bioluminescence, a frequent phenomenon in Bahamas produced by tiny sea cells that emit light in the dark.

　We had planned to stop in Walker’s only to load up on supplies before heading to White Sand Ridge, but when we met the owners of Walker’s Cay Marina, Rod and Brenda Atkison, we changed our plans. This American couple had been living on Walker’s for more than 20 years, diving daily with the sharks, so we decided to join them. While Brenda Atkison told us that there was nothing to worry about because sharks only hunt at night, I realized that we were heading to where we had been swimming the night before!

サメの優雅さにうっとり

　The water looked really calm, but when the crew threw several pieces of frozen fish into the sea, gray shadows neared the surface. Before jumping into the water, Rod, smiling, reassured us that in the Bahamas, it was more common to die from a coconut falling from a tree than a shark attack. So, reassured, we got our masks and fins ready, waited for his sign and quietly jumped into the water.

　There were more than 20 sharks circling, mainly reef sharks near the surface, and bull and tiger sharks near the bottom. The sharks were everywhere, and seemingly coming from all directions. You could sense that you were intruding on their territory. But soon the excitement and fear gave way to admiring their gentle and majestic way of swimming. This experience changed my fear of sharks and since then, I have taken every opportunity to dive with them.

　With the shark experience still in our minds, we sailed for a few days to White Sand Ridge, to the northwest of Grand Bahama Island. This shallow white sand bar extends to an area of about 45 square kilometers, ranging from 3 to 10 meters in depth.

　When we arrived there, we anchored the boat and took our dinghy out. After half an hour, we saw the first group of bottle-nosed dolphins crossing and jumping nearby, easy to identify because of their distinctive short and marked beaks.

　Soon we saw a second group, which stayed with us for a while and gave us the chance to swim with wild dolphins for the first time. The spotted dolphin is famous for its friendly nature, and enjoys swimming and playing with humans. At some point I got close to one of the dolphins, and it was then that I had my “close” encounter.

　The group of dolphins was making noises that underwater seemed like a melody, as if they were talking or singing to each other. It was a beautiful sight as they swam even upside down, playing with each other and joining us as well.

　After that encounter, many others came, and it wasn’t easy to leave their world and White Sand Ridge behind. In the afternoon we would all gather on the deck of the boat to share our experiences, ones that we would never forget.