Don’t miss the boat,
and the dolpins!

By Ruth Rovner
For the Times

It’s a glorious late-summer day at the Jersey Shore — sunny, cool and breezy — as our boat pulls away from the dock at Gardner’s Basin in Atlantic City. We’re off on a dolphin-watching adventure, and our captain is optimistic about our quest.
"The ocean’s perfect, there’s a nice breeze, and we do expect to see dolphins today," says Jeff George, owner of the popular Atlantic City Cruises. The Dolphin Watch is just one of four cruises offered, and most continue after Labor Day.
On this cruise, dolphins are spotted 90 percent of the time, says our captain. On the rare occasions when they don’t, everyone on board gets a free return ticket — with no limit on when it’s used.
Just yesterday, 35 dolphins were cavorting in the ocean off the coast of Brigantine, so the captain heads in the same direction today.
Our boat, the Cruisin 1, is a comfortable double-decked 65-foot vessel. As we head out to the ocean from the bay, sea gulls swoop overhead. Soon we see the Atlantic City skyline. Cameras click as we admire the outlines of the varied casinos from this vantage point. The gaudy Taj Mahal, the sleek Trump Plaza and others, all look like fantasy rectangles against the sky.
Then the Brigantine beach comes into view, and we see sunbathers and swimmers. Others are enjoying kite boarding: they’re on surfboards guiding colorful kites, and the youngsters on board enjoy watching this.
But our main focus is dolphins, and as we cruise, Captain Jeff gives us some basic information.
Dolphins are wild, he emphasizes: "These aren’t like the dolphins at places like Sea World in Orlando. These are not tamed in any way."
They stay at the Jersey Shore from May to October, when the ocean turns colder and they swim south. During the day, dolphins eat 40 to 60 pounds of fresh fish.
"They have hearty appetites," says our captain. And it shows: females grow to 400 pounds, and males are even heavier at 600 pounds.
A seasoned mariner and expert on dolphins, Captain Jeff has been working on boats since age 5. His grandfather started the business in Sea Isle City 38 years ago. Jeff, who is a Media native and former teacher at Media Elementary School, now owns the family business and lives full time at the Shore.
As the boat heads farther out to sea, he urges us to be on the lookout.
"You’re part of our research team, so tell us as soon as you see a dolphin," he says. "If you see a dark gray fin rise and fall, that’s a dolphin. And they have to come to the top to get air. Then they disappear back into the water."
Suddenly, on the starboard side, we see flashes of a fin coming to the surface. Then we see a brief glimpse of the entire dolphin before it dips back into the water.
"Oh, look!" passengers exclaim. "Look how close it came!"
We will soon see more, Jeff promises. He can tell from his "fish finder" that there are lots of fish around, and that means the dolphins are enjoying their lunch.
He knows from his fish finder that they’ve been having their "lunch" underwater.
"They take the fish, catch it in their teeth, and swallow their meal whole," he explains. "See all the birds? They’re getting the scraps of fish caught by the dolphins."
Soon we see many more flashes of fin. They’re cavorting in the water — coming up, and then darting down — and they’re on both sides of the boat. Jeff estimates that altogether there are about 50 dolphins underwater, although we won’t see that many.
"There are plenty of dolphins. They’re females with their babies," he says. He knows this because babies only swim with their mothers and aunts. He can even estimate that one baby dolphin is only a week old or less.
These Atlantic bottleneck dolphins keep flipping up and then diving back down underwater. Their tail fin is called a flipper, Jeff explains, because of how they use it to flip through the water.
He skillfully maneuvers the boat so those on both sides get good views as the dolphins come even closer.
"Here they come, right on cue," he says.
Passengers young and old are delighted. So is the captain.
"I promised we’d see dolphins, and that we’d have an adventure, and I kept my promise!" he says.
After we’ve enjoyed spotting the dolphins — and they are very fast-moving — it’s time to turn back. On the return trip, passengers enjoy the calm water, the gentle swell of the waves, and the sea breeze.
They’re a varied group, spanning all ages. Many are vacationers who are on their first dolphin watch. But others are repeat passengers who come whenever they’re at the Shore, just to enjoy the pleasure of this boat ride and the chance to watch dolphins riding the waves.
"This was great!" says Vickie Griffin, of Somerville, N.J., who is vacationing in Atlantic City with her friend Teresa Arnold. It’s their first time on Atlantic City Cruises. "I’ve seen one or two dolphins on cruises in Florida, but never this many."
"And the captain was very informative and knowledgeable," adds Arnold. "I’d recommend this cruise to anyone."
Adam Milewski is also pleased.
"I liked it very much!" I’m gonna tell all my friends at school about the dolphins," says the 6-year-old from Montclair, N.J, who’s here with his parents and sister Magdalena, age 12.
"It was really exciting to see the dolphins," says Magdalena.
It’s also exciting for Eleanor and Peter Lapensee. They are Canadians who live in a small town near Ottawa, and they visit Atlantic City often — and have never missed a boat ride on the Cruisin 1.
They’re such seasoned dolphin watchers that Peter Lapensee was the first passenger today to spot a dolphin.
They’ve taken other cruises with Captain Jeff, too, including a sold-out July 4 cruise this summer that concluded with watching fireworks from the boat. Even more memorable, two years ago, they chartered Cruisin 1 for their wedding. (The versatile Captain Jeff is also an ordained interfaith minister who officiated.)
For this nautical couple, the dolphin watch cruise remains one of their favorite activities at the Shore.
"It’s part of our tradition," says Eleanor Lapensee. "And we love it every time." ••

All aboard for cruises . . .

Here’s a sampling of boat rides from Atlantic City to Cape May. All of these continue after Labor Day:

Atlantic City Cruises offers varied cruises, including Morning Skyline, Dolphin Watching, Sightseeing, and Happy Hour. They continue, though not daily, through October. Complete schedule online at www.atlanticcitycruises.com or call 609-347-7600.

The Silver Bullet offers a 90-minute narrated cruise aboard a speedboat, and it includes dolphin watching. The boat leaves from the Wildwood Marina. Its route includes the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean. Tours continue through the end of September. Visit www.silverbullettours.com or call 609-522-6060.

The Cape May Whale Watcher, a double-deck 110-foot vessel seating 290 passengers, sails from Miss Chris Marina in Cape May. Two daily cruises, Dolphin Watch and Whale Watch, continue through the second week of October and then on weekends until the end of November. Call 800-786-5445 or visit www.capemaywhalewatcher.com

For sheer relaxation, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry sails year-round from Cape May to Lewes, Del., with several round-trip departures daily. Call 800-64-FERRY or visit www.capemaylewesferry.com