Dolphin decks fishing boat crew in sea drama

A placid fishing trip turned “berserk” for three New Zealand men when a dolphin weighing more than 900lbs appeared to fall out of the sky before crash-landing in their small boat.

No-one was badly hurt when the 11ft bottlenose dolphin jumped aboard the 16ft open-top boat on Friday, said the vessel’s owner, Dean Harrison.

Mr Harrison and two companions were fishing near the Hole in the Rock, a picturesque spot off the far north coast of New Zealand’s North Island, while dolphins frolicked ahead.

The men saw a shadow across the bright summer sun and heard an almighty boom – before chaos unfolded.

“This one decided to jump on board and say hello,” Mr Harrison said.

The creature’s flailing snapped “every single fishing rod we had in the boat” and severely damaged the bow as the trio clung to the sides of the vessel, said Mr Harrison.

One man had minor injuries to his arm where the juvenile male dolphin grazed his back and shoulder, but all three fishermen and the dolphin were otherwise uninjured.

However, returning the majestic creature to the sea was not an option for the trio due to its size.

“We looked at the dolphin still alive and breathing and we thought, we’ve got to start looking after him and figure out what to do,” Mr Harrison said.

“Because he’s stuck in the boat for now, so he’s coming along for the ride.”

On the way, the trio used a hose to keep the creature wet and protected it from the sun using a damp towel depicting players from the All Blacks rugby team.

On shore, members of a local Maori tribe prayed for the dolphin before it was returned to the ocean using a tractor.

Helpers gave the two to three-year-old creature a name: Tohu, which means “sign” in the Māori language.

Tohu is now also the name of Mr Harrison’s boat.

“The dolphin got to swim away and we got to walk away and we’ve all got a story to tell,” he said.

“It’s a good ending in a situation that could have been very different.”