Wednesday 17-11-2010

SuperCat 12pm Lunch Cruise
Capt Kat & Kim were doing their regular lunch cruise,
We had 13 passengers on board, One passenger was having his birthday with his daughter and her friend, They surprised him whilst on the boat.

Half way through the cruise heading in we encountered a pod of 7 dolphins being very dormant and having a rest. We then spot 2 more heading out towards the estuary, they jumped into the wake of the boat, rode the waves whilst leaping and jumping! Putting on a show they do big belly flops to the delight of the passengers, who were clapping and cheering, it was just amazing, the dolphins were frolicking and jumping all the way with the boat to the entrance of the inlet.

We then turned around heading for home base and the dolphins came with us again, but this time they just surfed the huge waves created by the 'SuperCat' and a boat full of guys fishing and cruising parrallel with us. The dolphins loved it! As did our passengers, plus the birthday boy had a great cruise and a dolphin experience he'll never forget!

Baby joy!

Bouvard Cruises are celebrating the arrival of two baby dolphins in the Mandurah area. One of our favourite pods of dolphins Nikkys family have introduced two calves to our passengers in the last couple of weeks. They are very cute and we are trying to get photos of the calves but it is so hard as the calves are still learning to swim properly however we did get a quick shot of the older of the two. The Calves are learning fast and are starting to be very playful with the boats.

As the weather warms up over the beautiful Mandurah water ways the dolphins are getting more interactive with the boats Monday was particulary good with the dolphin as Coel and Kat onboard "Dancing Dolphin' saw 20 dolphins during the day including the latest arrivals.

Mandurahs dolphins are very friendly and playful, but please remember that they are wild animals and you shouldn't feed or touch them, please help us to keep our dolphins wild and healthly and please put your rubbish in the bin once you have finnished with it.

If you would like to see Mandurah's playful dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises:
Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Christmas is fast approaching why not give your loved one a gift to remember with a Bouvard Cruises Gift Voucher to see the playful dolphins

Our passengers often ask us on our cruises where are we going to see the dolphins or when will we see them, and our answer is always the same, we're not sure. This is because all of the dolphins we see are wild and they come and go when they wish. We feel this is the best bit about going out in search of the dolphins because you never know where they will be or what they will be doing. Sometimes we can find them 5 minutes into the trip or not until we are on our return trip and unfortunately we do not always get to see them however this is not from lack of trying. Just like humans dolphins all have their own personalities and moods we often find dolphins who love to play in the wake of our boats and have alot of fun jumping and splashing, while other dolphins are happing just slowing swimming along. We are also very lucky to be able to watch the dolphins on their hunt for food which can be an amazing sight as dolphins are very smart and very quick working together to catch fish or chasing them along the rock walls in the canals. They also like to play with their food throwing octopus and large cobbler around.

We were lucky enough recently to be joined by Nicky and her calf in the wake of our boat the "Super Cat" while we were enjoying the sunshine out in the Peel Inlet on one of our lunch time fish and chip cruises. Nicky and the calf who is now close to two years old jumped and played in the wake and our we got some great shots of them as did our very excited passengers.

If you would like to see Mandurah's playful dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises:
Ph:+61 89581 1242
Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Supercat Dolphins Monday 13 Septemebear 2010

Supercat 12pm Cruise

Cpt Kat an Kim (being me) were doing our 1 hour cruise on the "Supercat" and we were heading back from the new Mandurah bridge towards the canal's when we spotted a large pod of dolphins and they started heading straight for the boat, as they love to play in the wake of this particular boat, at first they went under the bow, but then 3 of them dropped back to the port side, they were jumping out of the water and the 3 of them criss crossed over each continuously enjoying the wake and the slipstream that the boat creates, they did this for ages all the way to the old Mandurah bridge, while the rest of the pod enjoyed the bow of the the boat, where they get drawn in and bow wave which then pulls them along and they just go with it, the dolphins love this so much because you watch them roll around in it and they also go upside down and it seems as if there looking up at you, as the deck hand on the boat we get to experience this all the time and you wish you could just reach down and rub there bellies??

This interaction the dolphins have with the boats always brings a lot of joy and excitement to our passengers, who come from all over the world to experience our amazing dolphins that we have in the Mandurah region.

So if you have a spare hour on any day of the week come and join our crew, and check out Mandurah, the waterways and the chance to interact with the local dolphins..................

Nicky Sighted in the Dawesville Cut on the weekend

Gavin & Tara sighted a dolphin in the Dawesville Channel on Sunday with half a fin " It looked like it had been chopped off" and contacted us to see if we knew what dolphin it was.

We believe it was possibly Nicky, she has half her fin missing and has been in the Mandurah waterways for many years. We often see her playing in the wake of our boats. Nicky has raised several calves over the years in our waterways.

Often Dolphins are born with defects to their dorsal fins however it is also a common place for injuries caused by boats and other predators. We Believe Nicky was born with only half a fin. You can often see teeth marks in a dolphins dorsal fin caused by other dolphins, they do this as a way of playing with each other.

Tuesday 24th August on board "SuperCat"

Tuesday 24th August on board the "SuperCat"

Thank you to the Christie family for sending in some great vidoes from Tuesday's cruise.

"While we are aware that dolphin cruises are often at the mercy of nature, the cruise was fantastic and we never expected to see dolphins leaping out of the water so close to the boat. I have to say this was an experience we will never forget!" - John Christie

Dolphins put on a show for our over seas visitors

On board the "SuperCat" 12pm Lunch Cruise with Kat & Kim on Tuesday, was an exciting day for all.
On board they had visitors from the UK and a family from Malaysia all keen to see dolphins.
The boat was heading back from the new traffic bridge and spotted a dolphin coming across to the boat. At first it went under the bow and then dropped back to the stern (port side) and started jumping in the wake of the boat.
The family from Malaysia were down stairs and got splashed from the dolphin jumping right along side the boat, but they loved it and screamed with joy!
Everyone on board thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had come from half way around the world to do so.

Thank you to the Christie Family from the UK for sending us in these great photos!

Mandurahs Playful Dolphins!

Alluka one of our baby dolphins has become very independant from her mother in the last couple of months. We have seen Alluka around the water ways and have often wondered why such a small dolphin is off by herself but her mother is never far behind. (Bendy) Wendy as all good mums tries to teach Alluka about fishing and the skills she will need in the future however Alluka is more interested in playing games and showing off to passengers onboard our boats.

Another dolphin was found in the canals after just catching an octopus, dolphins however cannot chew their food they must find a way to rip pieces off to make it smaller, of all the times we have seen dolphins with octopus we have never seen them eat one just play and throw them around until they get bored.

"Super Cat" had a great time on the 12noon cruise on Saturday with a very playful dolphin jumping next to the boat. All on board had a great time watching as the dolphin leaped into the air and splashed passengers as it hit the water.

If you would like to see Mandurahs playful dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises:

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Play Time!

Doug and Kim were out and about last Sunday onboard the "Dancing Dolphin" and heading from the Port Mandurah Canals into the estuary when they spotted a dolphin fishing in the shallow waters of the Creery Wetlands. They headed over to the dolphin who at first was only interested in one thing, breakfast but after finding enough to eat the dolphin decided to have a bit of fun and play infront of the boat as it cruised through the calm inland waters of the Mandurah estuary. With lots of children onboard the boat was filled with squeals and laughter as the dolphin happily played for people to see.

Captain Kat and hostie Kat onboard "Super Cat" also managed to find a playful pod of dolphins for their passengers. This particular pod were only to happy to jump in the wake of the boat and followed us into Sticks Channel at the start of the Peel Inlet, then turned around with us on our journey back to Manjar Bay once again jumping and playing in the wake, to the amazement of some of our overseas visitors.

If you would like to see Mandurah's playful dolphins please contact us at Bouvard Cruises:
Ph: +61 89581 1242
Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Did You Know?

3 Dolphin years is the equal to 1 human year when the dolphins are living in the wild. In captivity 2.5 dolphin years is one human year.

Winter Wonderland!

Winter is here! Lucky for us dolphins can be seen in Mandurah all year round, which means you don't have to wait until the sunny weather returns to see some of our playful friends. In the last few weeks the dolphins have been in and out of the estuary every day playing with the boats and looking for food in the shallow waters. Mandurah is a great place for the dolphins as the shallow waters are warmer than the ocean outside and the canals offer a easy way of catching food. The dolphins use the rock walls in the canals to herd the fish into corners making it an easy meal.

We also have a new face in town a dolphin who was seen with another of our favourites Scar was playing on the bow wave of "Dancing Dolphin" this week and one of our skippers Doug came up with the name Tiger. The dolphin has scaring from its dorsal fin to the top of its head in a stripy pattern. The scaring has been caused from sunburn which occurs when the dolphins get caught on sandbars for a period of time and their skin gets burnt and dries out, when the burn has healed it leaves a white scar instead of the usual grey colouring of the dolphin.

Tuesday 22nd June was a fun day onboard "Super Cat" Debbie and Bob Krause from Brisbane saw dolphins at the side of the boat jumping, they played and frolicked in the wake for 5-10 minutes in the main channel heading towards the ocean marina, Bob was wrapped to have seen the dolphins playing with the boat.

If you would like to see Mandurahs playful dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises:

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

School Holiday Specials Available!

Name the Baby Dolphin Competition

The votes were close between Tide and Alluka...

Alluka was the winner with 158 votes compared to 116 votes for Tide.
Congratulations to Shanae Miller who suggested the name Alluka you are the winner of the Mandurah Stay & Play Package.
There have been a number of new dolphin calves recently so I'm sure one of the Bouvard Cruises crew will name another calf Tide.

Alluka was born on the 3rd of March and first sighted by Ron & Sarah onboard the "SuperCat". Alluka is the calf of a resident unnamed Mandurah Dolphin that has a bend in her dorsal fin. She is often called "Bendy Wendy". Perhaps we will have to call her Wendy from now on as we are frequently seeing her and Alluka playing in the wake of our boats.

Seal Sighting

Today onboard the "Dancing Dolphin" Kim & Alex had an exciting afternoon near the starboard marker near the sticks channel. They sighted a pod of dolphins moving quite quickly upstream and were not interested in interacting with the boat. They had there eye on a school of fish on the point near the sand bar. All of a sudden a seal popped up amongst the dolphins! It popped it's head above the water a few times and then disappeared.
The "Dancing Dolphin" continued back downstream near the New Traffic Bridge when the seal popped his head above the water again. There were a few fisherman on the bridge and the seal seemed to be looking for a free feed from the fisherman.

Last weeks dolphin sightings

Dolphins sighted on most cruises last week.
Last Friday, Sunday & Monday a popular spot for feeding was along the rock wall at the Entrance to the Marina. Up to 5 dolphins were seen on Monday feeding in this spot on large school or herring.

Saturday the 29th Doug & Julie had Nicki and her calf riding the bow of "Dancing Dolphin" from the Entrance to the Port Mandurah Canals to the entrance to the marina.

Monday the 31st Alex, Kat & Bec onboard the "Dancing Dolphin" were joined by 26 passengers from Sydney visiting Perth to compete in the National Disabled Ten Pin Bowling Championships. A pod of 3 dolphins followed the "Dancing Dolphin" riding on the bow from the New Traffic Bridge all the way through the Port Mandurah Canals to the War Memorial.
The water was crystal clear and everyone got some great photos of an unidentified adult dolphin that has quite a few scratches at the back of it's dorsal fin.
Kat managed to get a few photos on her new camera but mainly took photos for the bowling club to take back to Sydney with them.

Did You Know?

Dolphins have to be conscious to breathe, this means that they cannot sleep like you and I do in a deep sleep as they would suffocate. To sleep dolphins sleep half of their brain at a time, we often see the dolphins snoozing on the surface of the water with their blowholes exposed, however it depends on the individual dolphins as to how they sleep. Some choose to swim slowly and surface occassionally for air or rest on the bottom in shallow water and swim to the surface every now and then to breathe or as we most commonly see resting on the surface.

Just a Bit of Fun!

We have had beautiful sunny weather over the past week with crystal clear water in the Mandurah estuary and the dolphins have been spending alot of time in and around the waterways with both "Super Cat" and "Dancing Dolphin" seeing dolphins on most cruises. We have seen a few of our favourites this week including Nikky, Scar, White Spot and the young calf who we are currently running a baby naming competition through the blog so get in and vote for your favourite name.

All week pods of dolphins have been making their way through the estuary and have been very playful with our boats often comming to us and challenging us to a ride on either our bow or stern wakes, for them its just a bit of fun and we are only too happy to do so. The dolphins have been jumping high out of the water on cruises with Sarah and Alex on "Super Cat" and have been spinning and twirling and swimming upside down on the bow of "Dancing Dolphin" with Coel and Kat. Doug and Julie havent missed out either watching the dolphins chasing fish in the shallows and Beck and Ron have been having fun aswell with Ron whistling up the dolphins who often hear his whistle and come straight to the boat. The crew at Bouvard Cruises get just as excited about the dolphins as any of our customers and are happy to answer any of your questions.

If you would like to meet Mandurah's freindly dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Vote on a name for our baby dolphin

Thanks everyone for sending us in all the great names for our baby dolphin. The crew here at Bouvard Cruises have gone through all the names and selected 5 favourites. It's now back to you all to vote on which name you like the most. Be quick you have 7 days. The poll is over on the right.

Here are our latest photos of the baby dolphin playing and jumping in the wake on one of our cruises yesterday.

If you would like to see Mandurah's new baby dolphin please contact Bouvard Cruises:

Phone: +61 895811242
Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Lots of Playful dolphins today!

Kat and Coel onboard "Dancing Dolphin" at 1pm today saw 2 pods of dolphins near Sting Ray Point.
A pod of about 8 were heading down stream towards the ocean. They were moving along very quickly and jumping out of the water along the way.
Another 2 dolphins were seen mating near Henry Sutton Grove. They were having a great time splashing around and jumping out of the water.
The Seniors group from Kalamunda Respite Centre had a wonderful Fish & Chip Lunch Cruise with many playful dolphins seen.

Did You Know?

Dolphins have little or no sense of smell but make up for it with sharp hearing.

A Magic Moment!

One of Bouvard Cruises Captain Club members and Mariners Cove resident Moira Walton was out and about on the Mandurah waterways this week taking photos of a home she had just listed for sale, when she saw a pod of dolphins in the estuary. We are not sure if they were chasing fish or just having some fun but they definately put on a great show. Moira who has only lived in Mandurah since December and is a local Real Estate agent for Professionals Mandurah has kindly sent us her photos.

If you would like to see Mandurah's friendly dolphins please contact Bouvard Cruises:

Phone: +61 895811242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Did You Know?

Dolphins can dive to depths of more than 600 metres to catch food.

Look What I Can Do!

There is always something happening in Mandurah, and the dolphins are usually a big part of it, especially for those cruising with Bouvard Cruises. "Dancing Dolphin" has had alot of fun this week with the playful dolphins spinning and twirling on the bow wave and jumping off the side of the boat in its wake. They have also been spotted exploring through the shallow water on Fairbridge bank looking for food.

"Super Cat" has also been playing with the friendly dolphins this week, with one of our favourites showing up in town "Scar" is usually one to play with the boats, and wasn't shy of showing off jumping in the wake, spinning upside down and he and his mates rolled over one another in what we like to believe is saying look what I can do. Dolphins are alot like kids they love attention!

If you would like to see Mandurahs friendly dolphins please contact us:

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Dolphin Video - Getting Wet

Here is a great little video of a couple of playful dolphins soaking some of our guests on one of our recent cruises. These cheeky dolphins were so close that with each big jump they splashed down and sent huge sprays of water over our delighted guests.




If you would like to see Mandurahs amazing jumping dolphins please contact us:
Ph: +61 89581 1242 Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Did You Know?

Bottlenosed dolphins eat around 15 kilograms of food every day including a wide variety of different fish species, octopus and squid.

Gone Fishing!

Passengers often ask us where we are going to find the dolphins and do they swim through the marina and canal systems and the answer is yes! It is not uncommon for dolphins to be found in the canals and are usually looking a food, which could be a number of different types of fish and even octopus. The dolphins are very smart and know that if they chase the fish along the rock wall at great speeds the fish will get confused and they can trap them against the walls of the canals. They will also slap the water with their tails to stun the fish or blow bubbles to scare them.

Dolphins often work together in pods or even join in with other pods when there are large numbers of fish in one area. They circle the fish and round them up then charge in and grab the fish, they can be quite quick and very exciting to watch. Dolphins however can only swallow food they can not chew it first so most of the fish they catch is small enough to swallow whole, however we often see dolphins swimming along with a large salmon, cobbler or octopus which gets thrown into the air a number of times in hopes of ripping it apart.

Mandurahs dolphins are 100% wild and we would like to keep them this way, we do not encourage them with food or toys and they are free to come and go as they like. Dolphins are more then capable to find food themselves so please remember that if you do see dolphins do not feed them, and it is always nice to know that they choose to interact with our vessels of their own free will.

If you would like to see Mandurah's friendly dolphins

Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

Making a Splash!

Alot has been happening in beautiful Mandurah since our last blog. The dolphins have been very active in the last few weeks and we have been seeing larger numbers of dolphins recently. Newest member to our crew Alex, skipper onboard "Super Cat" was recently welcomed by the dolphins with a big splash! A pod of 4 dolphins showed both skipper and passengers how its done in Mandurah, jumping right out of the water wetting all onboard, including Kat our deckie who got so wet she had to borrow a jumper to keep warm while hers hung out to dry.

Nikky is also back in town after being missing for a number of weeks, this is not unusual for Nikky at this time of year as she often disappears for weeks at a time then returns again. Another of our favourite dolphins White Spot has been seen around the estuary in recent weeks, and as one of Mandurahs best jumpers he did not disappoint on his last visit. White Spot was seen at the start of the cruise near the Ocean Marina with his pod of 6, with lastest member a small calf, they then joined us on the other side of the estuary at the entrance to the canals and chased the "Super Cat" all the way into the entry of the Peel Inlet. The calf joined in the fun not quite sure what to do but the adults were putting on a great show leaping out of the water, 3 dolphins on either side of the boat it was hard to know where to look with all the excitment.

"Dancing Dolphin" hasnt missed out either, with pods of dolphins playing on the bow waves and catching large Octopus and Cobblers and showing passengers by throwing them into the air. Julie and Coel onboard "Dancing Dolphin" have been really lucky last week spending time with a pod of dolphins with two small calves, as the mothers showed them how to ride the bow wave and having some fun themselves by rolling, twirling and swimming upside down.

Remember to send us your baby names for our baby naming competition! To do this follow the link to our facebook page www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

If you would like to see Mandurahs friendly dolphins
Ph: +61 89581 1242

Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Name Our Baby Dolphin Competition

In recent months there has been a baby boom in Mandurah’s Dolphin population with at least 4 new baby dolphins born since Christmas. To celebrate this fantastic population boom with Mandurah’s dolphins we are going to hold a naming contest for the latest baby dolphin who arrived only 4 weeks ago.

The contest is open to everyone and we are putting up a fantastic prize to whoever comes up with the winning name.

The person that comes up with the winning name will win a fantastic “Stay and Play” Holiday package for 2 people for 2 nights in Mandurah which includes the following:

• Comfort Inn Crest Mandurah 3 star motel and apartment style family accommodation with pool, heated spa and tennis court.

• Bouvard Cruises 1 hour Dolphin and Scenic Canal Cruise where you will get the chance to see Mandurah’s newest baby dolphin that you named.

• Lunch at Mandurah’s award winning The Miami Bakehouse situated right on the waterfront in the centre of Mandurah.

• Dinner at Han’s Cafe where you can enjoy authentic Asian cuisine located on the Boardwalk with stunning views overlooking Mandurah’s waterways.

For more info on the prize and the businesses involved visit the Mandurah Stay and Play website www.StayAndPlay.MandurahWA.com.au

To enter the contest simply visit our Facebook page and make a posting with your name for the baby dolphin. We will then narrow the names down to 4 or 5 favourites which we will then put out to everyone in a poll to find the most popular.

The winner will then be announced.

Here is the link to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bouvardcruises

Get your names in before 5pm on Friday 14th May.

Here are a couple of facts that we know about the baby dolphin that may help you come up with a name. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet but it was born on the 3rd March 2010 in the shallow waters of Mandjar Bay right in the centre of Mandurah. It is already an accomplished wake surfer being taught how to surf and jump by it’s mother’s on a number of occasions.

If you would like to see Mandurah’s baby dolphins Bouvard Cruises can take your there. Call 08 9581 1242 or visit the website www.bouvardcruises.com.au

Zen's first dolphin

Last week 19 month old Zen visited Mandurah with his family including his Grandparents - Janis & Barry from the UK.
Zen saw his first dolphin jumping in the wash of "SuperCat" near the New Mandurah Traffic Bridge. The young dolphin followed "SuperCat" for about 10 minutes and put on a fantastic display for all passengers onboard.

Meet the Family!

We have been seeing good numbers of dolphins travelling through the Mandurah waterways in the past few weeks and they have been very playful often playing near the boat, in the wake or one of their favourite games is to play with seaweed where they put the seaweed on their dorsal fin then onto the tail and flick it to their mate. Feeding time is also fun to watch as the dolphins can be very quick chasing fish, one dolphin was seen with a large cobbler in its mouth and was throwing it in the air and going to get it again possibly breaking it into smaller peices, another was found in the canals with an octopus and was also throwing it around.

The dolphins have been keeping pretty busy with the arrival of the newest members to the family the very cute dolphin calves. The lastest arrival only being 3 weeks old and already playing in the wake of our boats. At just one week old we got our first look at the newest arrival who is yet to be named. The calf joined in the fun playing around our boats with its pod (even though it wasn't quite sure what to do). We saw the same pod a week later and they once again played with the boats showing off the calves, we believe that they are introducing them to the waterways and teaching them all the skills they will need. Everyone onboard has enjoyed meeting the new arrivals and have all commented on how cute they are.

If you would like to meet Mandurah's friendly dolphins

Ph: +61 89581 1242
Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

1st Baby Dolphin Photo

Here is the first photo of Mandurah's newest baby dolphin. It's been swimming strong and has plenty of support from it's pod.

Put your thinking caps on because very shortly (just organising some cool prizes) we are going to be holding a competition to come up with a name for the baby dolphin.

Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Mandurah's newest baby dolphin!

Saturday 20th February
Ron & Sarah onboard the "SuperCat" had an exciting day! Ron sighted a pod of 5 dolphins and headed over to them near the new bridge noticing that in the pod was a new born dolphin calve.
The calve was about 1 metre in length and thought to be less than 2 weeks old.
Ron has been given the job of naming the calve and were all waiting to see what name he comes up with.
Hopefully the new calve has survived it's first few weeks as a new born and we see it swimming around again shortly.

Female bottlenose dolphins generally give birth between March & September. The gestation period is 12 months and they are generally born about 70-130cm in length weighing 15-30kg.
Calves are born tail first, the mother then quickly pushes the calve to the surface so it doesn't drown. The calve suckles it's mothers milk for up to 18 months and starts eating fish at about 6 months.

Dolphin Sightings onboard the "SuperCat"

Saturday 13th February

Kat sighted 2 dolphins in the Mandurah Estuary, they came over to the boat for a brief look however continued heading downstream.

Sunday 14th February
Captain Simon onboard the "SuperCat" sighted 2 dolphins while heading into the marina, we had some international guests onboard from Singapore who were lucky enough to see dolphins in the wild for the first time.

Monday 15th February
Onboard the "SuperCat" in the Mandurah Estuary an expected dolphin appeared jumping in the wash behind the boat. Thrilled passengers onboard got slightly wet from the splashing of the dolphin.

Thursday 18th February
Captain Ron at 11:15am had a pod of three dolphins chasing the boat and playing in the wash near the entrance to the Port Mandurah Canals. Ron & Kat noticed a white spot on the back of one of the dolphins that they had never noticed before. White spots are caused from scaring, this may have happened recently to one of the local dolphins or is perhaps a new dolphin to the area.
Later in the day at 1345 another pod of 4 dolphins were fishing along the rock wall in the marina a very common spot to see dolphins.

Friday 19th February
Captain Ron found four dolphins at the entrance to the marina chasing fish along the rock wall. Dolphins use there tails to slap the water stunning the fish or even killing them. They then float to the surface and the dolphins enjoy a feed of fresh fish most likely mullet of whiting.

Mandurah's Jumping Dolphins Movie

This is our best dolphin movie so far, two dolphins recently were having an absolute ball next to our ferry and getting some serious "air-time" with some amazing high leaps and jumps. All this right next to the ferry and only a couple of metres from our guests. And the best part is this happens all the time!!! Enjoy.

If you would like to see Mandurahs amazing jumping dolphins please contact us:
Ph: +61 89581 1242 Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Dolphin Sightings this week

Tuesday 9th February
Coel & Kim onboard the "Dancing Dolphin" at 12:10pm saw one dolphin at the entrance to the marina with a large cobbler in it's mouth.
Onboard the "SuperCat" at 3pm Simon & Kat had a pod of 5 dolphins playing in the wake of the boat. Some lucky passengers Bob & Bev got some great photos which we will have posted shortly.

Latest Sightings

The Mandurah waterways have been a popular place for dolphin's in the last couple of weeks with the Bouvard Cruises crew sighting dolphins on most of their cruises. Sighting pods of one or two solitary dolphins to pods of up to 15/20 dolphins in the estuary.

Nikky and her calf as usual have been a regular sight for crew and passengers on both the "Dancing Dolphin" and "Super Cat". The dolphins have been quite playful chasing the boats throughout the estuary and even jumping vertically out of the water infront of the "Super Cat".

Australia Day has been and gone and every year in Mandurah all the locals get in their boats and join in the parade through the Marina, canals and estuary. This year we were also joined by approximately 20 dolphins in the estuary. Six dolphins came over the the "Dancing Dolphin" to say hello and even joined us for a swim on the bow whilst others in the pod chased fish in the shallow water along the bird sanctuary.

If you would like to see Mandurahs dolphins please contact us:

Ph: +61 89581 1242 Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au
Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Mandurah's Leaping Dolphins!

Mandurah's dolphins have been particualry playful in the last week "Dancing Dolphin" seeing up to 15/20 dolphins on one cruise. The dolphins played on the bow wave of the boat, spinning and splashing. Another pod was spotted chasing a school of fish in the shallow water on Stingray Point, this seems to be a popular spot for the dolphins.

"Super Cat" once again was joined by the playful bottlenosed dolphins in the main channel. They chased the boat all the way from Stingray Point in Manjar Bay to the ocean entrance having a great time jumping and playing in the boats wake, even managing to splash passengers eagerly watching onboard.

Nikky and her calf were seen on a number of occassions fishing and playing with the boats. There are also a number of new baby dolphin's in Mandurah at the moment a mother and a calf were spotted yesterday in the estuary and from the size and colour of the calf we believe it is only about one month old. A few of the skippers have also seen a few other baby dolphins in the last week out in the Peel inlet, they are very cute and very exciting to watch as they try new things and have fun splashing around, and mum is never far from their sides.

If you would like to see Mandurah's Dolphins please contact us:

Ph: +61 89581 1242 Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/

Dolphins in the Mandurah Estuary

Yesterday was another fun day for dolphins in the Mandurah Estuary with both vessels "Dancing Dolphin" and "Super Cat" seeing dolphins throughout the day.

Onboard "Super Cat" Doug and Kat saw dolphins on all of the cruises starting at 10am with one dolphin leaving the Port Mandurah Canals to chase fish on Stingray Point the dolphin circled the fish and slapped the water with its tail, also blowing bubbles under the water to scare the fish. When dolphins start to chase fish in shallow water it is quite interesting to watch especially when they work in groups, they can be pretty quick getting up to 40km in short bursts.

The 12pm cruise was joined by a pod of 4 dolphins who were very playful they chased the boat upstream to the turning point of the cruise then returned downstream chasing the boat and jumping in its wake.

By the 2pm cruise a pod of 6 large male dolphins were slowly making their way downstream out into the Indian Ocean, the dolphins although not overly interested in the boats just passed the boat on several occassions giving passengers great photo opportunities.

The 4pm cruise was another excitiing trip, as we were heading upstream in the Mandurah estuary Doug the skipper onboard saw 2 dolphins chasing schools of fish about 300 metres away from the boat once the dolphins had noticed the boat they stopped chasing fish and headed straight for us, we continued on our way and the dolphins jumped in behind us and chased us through the estuary having a great time surfing and leaping out of the water.

If you would like to see Mandurah's Dolphins please contact us:

Phone: +61 89581 1242 Email: info@bouvardcruises.com.au

Web: http://www.bouvardcruises.com.au/