Ride on the Dolphin Racer

Captain Dennis and Brittany on the Dolphin Racer

I love fast boats, and I was looking forward to a little speed on the Dolphin Racer. Although we knew the bow would probably not give the best visuals of the promised dolphins, we sat there anyway and the views of Boca Ciega Bay, the Gulf and Tampa Bay were spectacular on this perfect Florida afternoon. This video is pretty good and so are these TripAdvisor shots.

Captain Dennis and the very articulate and personable
marine biologist Brittany were in charge. Captain Dennis' humor is a little tedious but the two do a good job of making sure visitors see dolphins and learn something about this lovely area.

We took a ride on the Magic a few years ago

The boat wasn't full so we had a lot of room in the bow to move around and enjoy our surroundings. Not wanting to get anything wet in the bow, I brought only my little Samsung camera, but I needn't have worried. The "high speed ride" couldn't have been at more than 50 mph and I didn't even get a splash as we moved through the calm waters of the bay. I did not need my little Minnesota Vikings windbreaker on this 80F day.

So enjoyable to see not only familiar Boca Ciega but also the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Familiar landmarks look different from the water and it's fun to see boats and sailboats up close. We watched pelicans, osprey and cormorants fishing in Tampa Bay, with great success.

The ride was longer than expected, because I guess we didn't see as many dolphins as usual. Both Captain Dennis and Brittany visited with each group during the ride, and Bob cynically commented quietly to me that the personal touch might improve tips. Nevertheless, the personal touch was appreciated and I enjoyed myself very much. Another great afternoon!