"One of the best days sailing ever" - Clet the dolphin thrills Portland sailors

Staff from the Andrew Simpson Sailing centre were out enjoying the waters of Portland Harbour recently when they looked down into the water and saw Clet the dolphin swimming with them.

The playful dolphin then proceeded to chase them, jumping in and out of the water, splashing his tail and following them.

It is believed the dolphin must have been the famous Clet, as he has a distinctive fin. The name Clet was first coined for the dolphin when he was caught following fishing boats in Britanny in 2008.

He is famous for his solitary nature and the fact he likes to travel long distances, leading to him being spotted all around the UK.

The bottlenose dolphin was spotted earlier this week in the waters around Weymouth and Portland.

Assistant Centre Manager at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre, based at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, is Dan Hallam, assistant centre manager at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre,. He was taking staff out on the water in their women’s high performance Olympic class boat, 49er class FX. The boat had two trapezes on that sailors use to hang off to help manoeuvre and balance the vessel.

The sailors couldn’t believe their eyes when the dolphin decided to come and join the fun. They sailed around with their safety boat whilst the dolphin splashed, jumped, chased and swam around the boats.

Mr Hallam said they went out sailing at 5pm and Clet joined them from 6.30pm to about 7.30pm. He said: “We were cruising around Portland Harbour. We saw a splash ahead and so we went towards it and the dolphin was swimming right beneath us.

“We were hanging out of the trapeze and the dolphin was right underneath.

“We called the safety boat over as we wanted them to see too. The dolphin was chasing them around and splashing.”

Mr Hallam said the dolphin seemed friendly and was jumping around them and slashing his tail. He added that the dolphin easily managed to keep up with the fast moving performance vessel.

He said: “The dolphin was swimming upside down next to the boat at one point and looking back at the people in the safety boat.”

He added that it had been an incredible sight to see, adding: “I have been sailing for 20 years and its one of the best days sailing I have ever had.”