The Dolphin Swim Club was invited in the studio of Bynt, a programme of Omrop Fryslân. Creative producer Benno Brada explains about the unique experience that is swimming with wild dolphins.
“You notice their intelligence. They scan you, they look at you. You see their tight family connection. Mother dolphins will show you their babies, and the baby won’t hide. You feel so welcome and integrated. It is an amazing experience. Everyone should experience this.”
After a succesful crowdfunding event, Benno explains about the Dolphin Swim Club’s upcoming plans to film dolphins in the Red Sea. This has never been filmed before in 360-degrees.
“We live on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Sweden. There are no dolphins in that sea. We started a crowdfund project on Kickstarter, and the next day we received the message that two bottlenose dolphins were spotted right outside our house. So ofcourse we practised what we preached and went swimming with them. That is the magic of dolphins.”
Language: Frysian and Dutch
One of Marijke’s greatest interests is to travel the world and swim with dolphins. On Monday she did just that at the docks in Pataholm (Sweden). Marijke’s voice cannot hide the joy when she tells about Monday’s event.“We’re still a little shocked. It was almost a little magical feeling”, she says. It was last week that she first found out that dolphins were seen outside Pataholm. She and her husband hurried there to take several nice pictures of the carefree dolphins. On Monday, she found out that the dolphins were seen at Pataholm again. “The weather was clear and fine and the dolphins came in the giant jetty. I took the opportunity and jumped into the water”, says Marijke Sjollema.“I think I was with them for an hour. They swam around and I heard their click sound in the water when they communicated.”
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports on swimming with dolphins as a popular tourist attraction. “Swimming with dolphins is a fun activity, but do the animals enjoy it as well? Most people agree that at least wild dolphins can decide to swim away if they are not in the mood to play. But what about so-called dolphin-assisted therapies for children suffering from down syndrome or autism? The Dolphin Swim Club aims to offer an animal-friendly alternative, made possible through a new Virtual Reality technology. The organisation has just launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter.”