THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606200645
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: SPECIAL EDITION: A VISITOR'S GUIDE TO THE EXPANDED VIRGINIA MARINE
SCIENCE MUSEUM
SOURCE: BY ROY A. BAHLS
STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 81 lines
With the film ``Flipper'' still making a splash at theaters, there's a good chance that the museum's Dolphin Watch Trips will be the hot ticket this summer.
The yearly migration of these intelligent and playful creatures brings them to our waters from April through October. Peak sighting months are during July and August.
``I think it's a great experience for people to be out on the water,'' said Joy Eliassen, museum program specialist. ``Every trip is different because we are seeing nature at its best and its most unpredictable.''
The museum also offers hands-on Ocean Collection Trips and Whale Watch Trips in the winter.
Spectators leave the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet on the Miss Virginia Beach, a 65-foot head boat. After a short ride out to the ocean, the boat roams along the coast, where spectators are treated to a lively show by bottlenose dolphins.
``We describe their behaviors,'' Eliassen said. ``Sometimes they are feeding, sometimes they are napping. Sometimes they are just joyfully playing and they ride the bow wake of our boat.''
Strict guidelines determine how the animals are approached.
``We don't want to harass them in any way,'' Eliassen said. ``Sometimes we'll turn the motor off and let the dolphins approach us. It's kind of neat because you can even hear the dolphins breathing.''
Dolphins aren't the only animals that are sighted on the trips. It's common to see stingrays, sea turtles and many different bird species.
``One really exciting thing I saw last year,'' Eliassen said, ``was when the ocean was completely flat and we were headed back to the inlet. I could see the dolphins swimming from the shoreline out to our boat. There were probably a couple hundred that day and they were all headed out to the boat so they could ride the bow wake and the stern wake. It was just a tremendous sight.''
The museum offers other opportunities to get out on the water and observe the marine environment.
On the Ocean Collection Trips people get a hands-on experience with a wide range of plants and animals.
A large net is dragged along the ocean floor and its contents are brought on board for inspection.
``We can get fish, sand dollars, different kinds of seaweeds and horseshoe crabs,'' Eliassen said. ``It varies according to the time of year. It's always a real surprise.''
Other marine animals and items that have been brought on board include a dogfish shark, a sturgeon, a sea turtle and an anchor from the late 1800s.
A plankton net picks up small ocean plants and animals .
``As we see these species,'' Eliassen said, ``we identify them and answer questions and talk about how they fit into the food chain. It's a great way to teach appreciation for the diversity of all of the marine species.''
Whale Watch Trips take place during the winter; January and February are usually the best months.
``We observed pretty dramatic behavior from them last year,'' Eliassen said. ``I saw a whale leaping out of the water for over an hour, just continually breaching at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. We get the juveniles which are the size of a school bus. At 30 feet in length, anything they do is dramatic.''
Other programs offered by the museum include workshops, lectures, birthday parties and overnight programs.
Dolphin Watch Trips, June 17 through Sept. 1 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. $12 for adults; $10 for children 11 and under.
Ocean Collection Trips, June 19 through Aug. 21 at 12:45 p.m. Wednesdays. $10, $8 children.
Whale Watch Trips, January through March. Times to be determined. $12 for adults; $10 for children 11 and under.
Call 437-BOAT (2628) for information about or reservations for dolphin, whale and ocean collection trips. ILLUSTRATION: FILE PHOTO
Dolphins are a common sight off Virginia Beacah in the warm-weather
months. by SS