Ian Julian was among the passengers on the Coastal Vibes ‘Birds and Breakfast on the Bay cruise,’ a 2.5 hour guided experience exploring Weymouth Bay and its bird hotspots.
However, passengers were in for a huge treat when around six dolphins began jumping out of the water alongside them.
Dolphins in Weymouth Bay (Image: Ian Douglas Julian)
The trip was a last-minute decision for Ian as he told himself he would only book a ticket if he woke up early enough, and after rising at 4.30am at his home in Poole, he did just that.
He said of the dolphins: “They were just exuberant.
“We set off from Weymouth Harbour on a bird boat, I didn’t expect to see much because it’s not that time of year, then someone spotted two dolphins in the distance and then we had six dolphins around us and that was it for the last hour.
Dolphins in Weymouth Bay (Image: Ian Douglas Julian)
“We went as far as Durdle Door, the sighting was totally expected. You don’t expect to see it in Dorset. Everybody loved it, even the people working on the boat said they had never seen anything like it, it was just astonishing.”
Bottlenose dolphins are an increasingly popular sight in Dorset’s waters including out in Weymouth Bay and according to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Dorset is on the route used by England’s only resident pod of bottlenose dolphins, which regularly travel along the South Coast between Cornwall and Sussex.
Ian captured some brilliant images of the dolphins leaping out of the water.
Dolphins in Weymouth Bay (Image: Ian Douglas Julian)
He said: “I just pointed my camera in their direction and clicked. It is a challenge photographing them as you never know where they were going to jump.
“I went on the trip because I love the Jurassic Coast and it was a sunny day. Even if I saw nothing it would have been alright, but to have the Jurassic Coast as the backdrop to the dolphins was just amazing. We were so lucky.”
Dolphins in Weymouth Bay (Image: Ian Douglas Julian)
He claims that one of the dolphins jumped around 15ft out of the water, nicknaming it ‘Cristiano Ronaldo.’
Dolphins in Weymouth Bay (Image: Ian Douglas Julian)
Ian also shared his photos to the Echo’s Camera Club page where he was met with plenty of positive comments such as ‘fantastic’ and ‘wow.’
READ MORE: Dolphins spotted playing alongside RNLI Weymouth lifeboat