Open-water swimmer Simon Holliday swam from Hong Kong to Macau on 24 May 2014. In that he created a record for fastest swim from Hong Kong to Macau: 35 km in 10 hours and 20 minutes.
To his surprise, when Holliday was approaching the mouth of the Pearl River Delta when his support paddler, Shu Pu, started shouting about strange visitors to witness his swim. There were endangered pink dolphins everywhere, as if they had signed up to join the race.
“I have been in Hong Kong, paddling around the islands for seven years, and have never encountered a pink dolphin on my own,” Pu said.
There were about 25 to 30 following the crew and diving on every side.
“I didn’t actually know they were there until the crew told me,” Holliday said. “And then I was thinking, well the sun is out, the dolphins are following along and I might just finish this thing. It was a really great omen.”
One may not be able to swim alongside the pink dolphins quite like Simon Holliday did, but with continued efforts by activists to educate travellers and operators alike, the pink dolphins may very well be diving around Hong Kong waters for a little while longer.
