Californian Diary

So we were in California, invited by professor Skip Rizzo to present the Dolphin Swim Club at the ICDVRat, a coming together of Virtual Reality pioneers, medical scientists, as well as artists, dedicated to help people within the field of healthcare with the aid of science and technology, all in the City of Angels. Someone stated about the question; Does Virtual Reality work for patients in healthcare? To compare it with this question; does a syringe help? The answer was that it really depends what you put in it. Content is queen. For an artist this is of course great inspiration!

However, before spending some days in LA, since we were already in the area , we hung out on the Pacific Ocean, to see if we could meet up with cetacean friends in the rich coastal waters. Out in the harbor town Dana Point we went out with a whale-watching catamaran, and we had the great honor to meet for the first time, the magnificent Blue Whale. The greatest creature ever lived on our planet, ever… (That will be a separate blog next, with some cool pictures, I promise). As well as, Californian Sea-Lions, Mola-Mola, Short-beaked Common Dolphins, Long-beaked Common Dolphins, Coastal Bottle-nose Dolphins, Sea-otters, Pelicans, Elephant Seals, Humming Birds, All kinds of other birds, Rizzo’s Dolphins, (perhaps in honor of our host professor Skip Rizzo), Porpoises and Humpback Whales.

Captain Dave, the owner of the whale-watching operation introduced us to his friend Barry Curtis. Both are members of a whale rescue team trying to set free sea life entangled in fishing nets. Barry invited us to join him on his boat the next morning. The mission was to try and find an entangled humpback whale, spotted the day before. On a beautiful sunny, windless September morning we set out from Dana Point to see if we could find the humpback in trouble, and ‘babysit’, keep score of it’s position till further rescue efforts could arrive. Although the conditions were perfect we never found the whale.

Barry’s companion is a very special dog, his name is Otter (the dolphin dog) and he is if possible even more passionate about dolphins than we are. So when we couldn’t find the whale, at some point Otter became restless and yes, there they were, lots and lots of Short-beaked Common Dolphins all around in a ‘stampede’. Yes Barry, it’s a wonderful world indeed.

The only thing weighing down this magical day was the thought of the poor humpback soul out there in trouble somewhere. Until a few days later when the news arrived that the whale managed to free itself!!

A very happy ending indeed. So to all our new friends from California, whether Cetacean, Canine or Human, wishing you save travels and free passage to wherever your dreams may lead you.

We have some bad news and a lot of good news.

To start with the bad news: we didn’t reach the amount of funding we had hoped for on the site for crowd funding we started a presentation on. However almost all backers from the campaign have continued their support. So that brings us to the good news;

The Dolphin Swim Club goes on! All wondrous events following the inspiration to make a VR production about swimming amongst dolphins convinced us to just go ahead!

And more good news: The two bottlenose dolphins that so magically appeared at the day of the launch of the Dolphin Swim Club at the front of the ‘headquarters’ in the Baltic Sea, are alive and doing well. They are slowly moving, visiting different bays and harbours, still delighting people everywhere with their presence. They now have their own Facebook Page: Kalmarsunds delfiner where you can find out about their whereabouts, and people post their wonderful pictures and films, experiences and questions, as well as some discussions about the best way to interact with them. As of course, dolphins are not native to the Baltic Sea, so it’s new to everyone.

Sundown in Figeholm, Sweden. Two bottlenose dolphin explorers wander into the Baltic Sea, bringing delight to everyone they meet! True ambassadors, cutting a trail where no whale has gone before…

For the team of the Dolphins Swim Club there was a moment of a rather difficult choice. We found ourselves in the middle of this miracle. Every day could be the last one to see them, when they would decide to turn south back to the North Sea. Time spent playing with the dolphins, is always the best. That’s why we love to make the VR-films in the first place, to share the magic. And the dolphins gave us a beautiful wise advice: life is happening here and now!

the Dolphin Swim Club gets splashed!

So instead of managing the crowd funding project from behind a desk we were out playing with the dolphins! Such an adventure! In the process we’ve been meeting wonderful people as well. We’ve been out paddling canoes with strangers, we’ve been dining and sleeping in the house of strangers and we’ve been handed coffee, homemade cookies and apple-pie by strangers. We had very special and wonderful conversations with such interesting and talented people, and many strangers soon became new friends.

ballet in Figeholm, Sweden

All of us so fully aware of this magical times that the two dolphins brought upon us.

This sense of urgency to fully live life. Like flying out to Stockholm in the evening to be in a morning talk show for national television. Getting up at 4.30, being interviewed about swimming with them, then to take the first flight back to rush to the bay for another paddling tour. Just for the chance to float in the sea, in the dark, listening to the wonderful puffing sounds of the dolphins breathing and swimming nearby. To see a shimmer of a fin, lighten up in a moonbeam.

Selfi and Delfi and Marijke Sjollema in Pataholm, Sweden on the 21th of september 2015.

By swimming as the first person (Marijke) ever with dolphins in the Baltic (probably), and by making under water footage used by Swedish Television (Benno), we managed to get a chance to talk about the Dolphin Swim Club in both Sweden and the Netherlands. This proved to be helpful in order to find a bit of additional funding for our dream, beside the crowd funding project. Other dolphin-lovers offered to donate their time and skills in order to realize the Dolphin Swim Club movies. This is really helpful in order to lower the production costs a bit as well.

The final realization of such a complex production, remains however a costly business and we still haven’t our total funding together. Nevertheless we did decide to take a leap of faith and to go ahead.

Dolphinmagic in Pataholm,Sweden

Imagine you are a child and live in a little coastal village in Sweden. One wondrous day two bottlenose dolphins visit your harbour and give this splashing show. The faces of these children, and adults alike actually, they inspired us so much. Thinking about meeting the gaze of the dolphins under water earlier that day, I made a silent promise to all.

Pataholm, Sweden

friends

one of the dolphins meets a dog

When dolphins can travel thousands of miles into unknown waters to show up for the opening of the Dolphin Swim Club, we ourselves must certainly cover the whole distance.

How cool would it be to have this experience of dolphin magic available right in your smartphone or computer? Go swimming with the dolphins wherever you are.

In the meantime we have interviewed specialists about using our footage for research in the treatment of patients. In the fields of autism, depression, childbirth, and also post-traumatic stress disorder. The reactions are very positive, so there is a good chance that the dolphin-magic may also work in these directions. And it is also in this area that we have found additional funding.

On www.thedolphinswimclub.com we have just opened up a web-shop where you may pre-order, and find the same products as presented on the crowd funding site. The date of delivery will still be around the end of the year.

Our dear friends, and movie stars*

We have booked a boat for the beginning of December (6/13) to make the footage. The owners of the boat have supported the project as well with a generous offer and we will be 7 days at a unique location to capture the life and joy of wild and free dolphins. Due to their gift we have now 4 extra places on board available, in two duo shared cabins. Is swimming with dolphins your dream? Now there is a special opportunity! We invite you to share this unique experience of swimming with spinner and sometimes bottlenose-dolphins in the clear aqua-blue tropical waters of the Red Sea. As well as sea turtle’s, all kinds of colorful fish and amazing coral reefs. Apart from the film crew there will be a snorkeling/diving guide and a marine biologist on board. And not all that unimportant a great chef who will cook all our meals! There are several decks on board, so there is always space available to sit and relax after spending hours with the dolphins, or take a mid-day rest.

A apart from that you will probably have the greatest time ever, you will also help us to realize the footage for the Dolphin swim Club.

We are so much looking forward to start to next chapter of this project, which has been so full of magic so far.

Thanks everyone so far for all your support! I leave here with this very warm feeling of gratitude.

Marijke Sjollema

The magic goes on…..

Don’t know where to start really…..The two bottlenose dolphins that showed up in front of the ‘headquarters’ of the Dolphin Swim Club, on the launching day of the project here on the other side of the Kalmarsund in Sweden, became national news! On the evening of Monday the 21st of September, in the poring rain, but with calm sea I went in to swim with them! When I looked up after spending almost two hours in the water, I saw a stunning rainbow over the island of Öland, where we live. Swimming with dolphins, in the Baltic Sea? Where they are not native, it is truly a miracle, and I feel so blessed to have once more enjoyed their company. That is why we started this project, to share this experience, just to have a taste through Virtual Reality.

Here in Sweden everybody is pretty exited about it, more and more people are gathering in the harbour, and it is an absolute joy to watch how the dolphins enchant all!

Since it is probably the first time anyone has been swimming amongst dolphins in the Baltic Sea, there have been interviews for Swedish television, radio and newspapers.

It is all in Swedish, but just to share a bit about all the truly magic events here…

http://www.barometern.se/kalmar/delfiner-pa-lekhumor-bland-bryggor-i-pataholm/?fb_action_ids=723681174402804&fb_action_types=og.likes

http://www.svt.se/nyheter/regionalt/smaland/hon-simmade-med-delfinerna

Allow me to share a little bit more about the strange and magic circumstances around ‘the birth’ of the Dolphin Swim Club. All spring and summer we have been dreaming, talking and working hard to plan. Countless mails between Sweden, the Netherlands, and the rest of the world.

This is the ‘headquarters’ of the Dolphin swim Club, a boathouse at the Baltic coast on the

Swedish island Öland.

And all that time there have been sightings of bottlenose dolphins in the Baltic, which is very, very, very unusual… only porpoises are native to the Baltic, and even they are rare.

The Ocean played a role, because of special winds and tides, and an enormous amount of fresh, salt water could come in, last winter.

At first there was a lone dolphin, playing and interacting with people in boats, canoes, and little harbours. Bringing excitement and delight everywhere.

Slowly making her way North, up till the Islands around Stockholm. There this wild dolphin swam for days in front of the Swedish aquarium Kolmården, where the captive dolphins live. She was even in front of the house of their research leader Mats Amundin.

You can follow the journey on www.valar.se

The media gave the dolphin the name; ‘Vilse’ (Lost), which is rather unfortunately chosen, because I have the strong feeling that there was nothing lost nor erratic about it this very courageous and heroic journey.

A few weeks later the ocean played a role again, it receded, water levels were unusual low. A bit of ocean bottom at the coast became visible, and, now the really sad part;…. the body of this very courageous dolphin revealed herself, close to the Dolphin Swim Club. In this way we found out that she was a female.

Just that weekend, Ian Graham, well known author and organizer of dolphin retreats!  visited us.

Since we all consider dolphins as our relatives, we went to the place she was found and put some tears and flowers on that spot.

Honouring her courage, and trying to understand her journey, and what she clearly wanted to share with us all, humans.

Dolphins seem to master the art of living in peace, harmony and joy. I am sure that they weep too, for every child, woman and man that has been sinking into their world in the Mediterranean Sea lately.

Two days later we went back early in the morning, and just behind the flowers, the ocean had floated in a pair of diving-goggles…

© Marijke Sjollema

We took that as a clear calling from the cetacean consciousness, an encouragement to go on with the Dolphin Swim Club. All the more in honour of the lonely dolphin who undertook such a brave journey into the unknown.

Last weekend, at the time of the launching of the Dolphin Swim Club, another dolphin sighting came in the news; A pair of bottlenose dolphins have been filmed just North of Stockholm, jumping and frolicking about for over 3 hours!

And yesterday, as I was writing this story, these two showed up in front of the ‘headquarters’ of the Dolphin Swim Club!!!!! Again, bottlenose dolphins are not native to the Baltic Sea. This is by all means a wondrous event….

As I stated that I am the co-founder of the Dolphin Swim Club, apart from working together with a great team, including my beloved husband, I meant it as to state that it is in partnership with the Dolphins.

They seem to feel the same way…

The dolphins are inviting you to become part of their world.
And dear reader; can you think of a better name for ‘Vilse, (Lost)?
Even when she is in spirit now…

May you all safely navigate your oceans,
Marijke Sjollema