This wasn’t the first time I had seen Spinner Dolphins (I saw them while in Timor Leste), but this was my first time seeing dolphins in the water while on a dive. We had seen the dolphins swimming around the bay when we first arrived at the dive site called Two Step in Kona, Hawaii… and as is my normal reaction to stuff like this when going for a dive, I did not expect to actually see them in the water, but was quite surprised and pleased that they did grace us with a visit. And not only did they visit us while we were at depth during the dive, but right after we surfaced, they came even closer and circled us quickly and then swam off.
There are strict rules (and breaking them is a felony) regarding approaching, harassing, and even staying within a certain distance of the Spinner Dolphins in Hawaii. Knowing this, when we saw them, our group quickly gathered close together and did not approach the dolphins, but let them choose their swim path.
