Circle Of Life. No Food Today.

The ocean is always a beautiful place to be. But sometimes it can be a little sad. Sunday's surf session, for instance, started out so great. First thing I saw when I hit the path was a woman carrying what seemed to be a newborn down to the shore. It was like she couldn't wait to show her baby the sea. Sweet, huh?

Meanwhile, I had made it out for Dawn Patrol, and the conditions were nice and mellow, the sea almost glassy, the sky a slate grey. One thing was strange though, I noticed, almost immediately after paddling out. There were what appeared to be three dolphins, just hanging very close to shore, and close to each other. It's certainly not strange to see dolphins off the coast here in California, but usually they're just passing by, heading either north or south. I always find it soothing, and maybe even good luck to see dolphins, so I was happy at first to see these guys. But they didn't seem to be heading in any direction. Were they feeding on something? Mating? Another Surfer soon paddled up next to me and also commented on this strange sight. I wasn't quite sure, but it almost looked like one was larger, and there were two smaller ones, so maybe it was a mama and her babies, and that was nice, because it fit in with the theme of seeing the mom and her baby a few minutes earlier.

So we turned our attention back to trying to catch waves. Often on weekends there are swimmers too. These hardy souls swim way out past where surfers are waiting to catch waves, and I always admire them for their courage and endurance, because that kind of swimming is not easy. So I was sitting up on my board when a lady swimming north approached. We traded 'good mornings,' and then she said "it's so sad. One of those dolphins is very sick." Apparently the larger dolphin was really struggling, while the two others were swimming in circles around it. They didn't seem to want to leave it, and it was as if they were watching over it. Was it a parent? A friend? A dolphin sibling? At one point the current pulled me a bit closer, and you could clearly see the face of the ailing guy. I think I even heard him or her let out what sounded like a defeated sigh. It was so moving, and it made me want to cry. Maybe the fellow surfing next to me said it best: "circle of life" is how he put it. And then this idea struck me: how lucky are dolphins? They love the ocean. And they get to spend their entire lives in it.

I tried to get a few more waves, but now my heart wasn't it so I headed in (getting a good pummeling from one wave when I wasn't paying attention!). I figured the lifeguard knew about the dolphin, but I was going to say something. I passed another surfer, though, who was coming from just having done that. They'd alert Marine Patrol, and if there was something they could do to help the dolphin, that's what they would do.

So, yes, circle of life, but still kind of a bummer. Couldn't think of a good segue into something food-related, so we'll just leave it at that for this episode.