 Regular readers will know that Fungie our resident dolphin in Dingle harbour is not the interactive dolphin he once was. Few people try to swim with these days. The only regulars are Nick and Suzanne, who usually see something of him when they brave the winter weather down at Slaidin beach, but not with the same regularity as in previous years.
With Cork man Aiden Dunlea and his Laser dinghy though, it's a different story. Aiden has been taking his boat out in the mouth of the harbour most weekends for many years now and he nearly always gets a great response from the dolphin. Fungie races along beside the dinghy as Aiden spins around the harbour, often in windy conditions when few other sailors would risk their boats so close to the rocky shore. But Aiden knows every inch of the sea and coastline here, just like the dolphin, so they make good partners. Fungie will surf along with the dinghy and leap in the air close beside it, sometimes even crashing down on top of it!
 Caroline Broad was visiting from the UK at New Year and captured these great shots of Fungie and Aiden in action.
In these last two photos you can see a characteristic interaction where Fungie rears up beside the boat, touching the sail with his beak, before crashing backwards into the water with a mighty splash.
 Even if he is not as interested in swimmers as before, you can see there's plenty of life and fun left in this dolphin still!
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