h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had to admit that the food in the water ski cabin was good, and that the gentle motion of the waves rocked me to sleep when darkness came.

The following morning, a couple of crew members came by to help me put my wetsuit on and introduce me to Dolly, the dolphin that I would be riding. My objections to being in the open ocean where hungry sharks might want a piece of me were met with the explanation that (a.) an enclosure had been erected to keep the varmints out, and (b.) I only had to ride Dolly [who was already sending out vibes that she adored me] for one hour, after which, (c.) I would sit in a dolphin-shaped chair on board the yacht for the rest of the day.

"Dolly would *love* to have you ride her the whole day," said Candace Cayenne, one of the crew members, "but we'll barely be able to get across the Atlantic on schedule, even at top speed, so the yacht needs to do as much as it can."

"Plus, you're making Gandolph jealous," added Lars, another crew member, with a wink.

"Who's Gandolph?" I exclaimed.

"Her significant other," Lars replied with a wink. "Did you think a gorgeous dolphin like Dolly wouldn't be spoken for?"

"Um, how do I climb on Dolly's back?" I wondered.

"You don't. A Dolphin "ride" consists of you holding onto the dorsal fin and being towed, hence the tight wetsuit to prevent you from freezing in the cold water."

Even an hour of "riding" Dolly left me with cold face and hands. While I warmed up afterwards in my dolphin chair, I tried to chat up Candace: "Did they call you Candy Cane in School?"

"Why would they do that?" Candace said blankly.

[Amy P]

I hope you had a nice hot drink to warm you up and riding on a dolphin sounds like fun.

It would be fun off the coast of Florida, but not in mid-Atlantic just south of Nova Scotia in November .