We took a wonderful two-hour dolphin cruise, including a 30 minute stop on Anclote Island, with Odyssey Cruises in Tarpon Springs. Our photography club decided to do this outing, and we decided to go.
The 10:30 a.m. trip started with an introduction to the area by the boat’s naturalist, a certified Florida Master Naturalist, including history and nature. We love hearing commentary and presentations from our fellow Florida Master Naturalists since we know the time and effort, and continuing education, it takes for that certification. The trip out along the river took us by the working fishing boats, the marinas, and the businesses. Sometimes it feels like tourist country when you visit, but this is a working town.
We arrived at the tip of Anclote, and the boat drove up on the beach. Sea birds rested everywhere on the spits of sand, suddenly all taking off and landing again. A variety of gulls, skimmers, pelicans, and others crowded the area. Many people sought out shells, I walked and took some photographs and just marveled at the difference just a short boat ride out. After 30 minutes we boarded again, and set off back to the dock. 
The captain and the naturalist both told us to look out for dolphins. Naturally, they cannot guarantee a sighting.
About half way back we saw them. A family of dolphins, four by our count, swam around and played. One swam on her back, we saw a tail wave, and enjoyed the sight (taking photos of course) for quite some time before we needed to head back.
I carried my Canon 7D with the 24mm – 70mm lens. I had the 100m – 400m in my pack but decided to go with what I had on the camera. More of the dolphin shots appear in the next blog post.
Nichter Photography PLUS 