Help for distressed mariners soon came in a most unusual form. Pilots began to notice the lithe figure of a snow-white albino dolphin preceding each boat through the cut. Amazingly, the creature seemed always to follow the ever-changing channel. Soon, captains came to trust Hatteras Jack, as he was called. They would blow their foghorns just outside the inlet to summon this master of sea and sand. Legend tells us that Hatteras Jack would even appraise the draft of the incoming vessel and carry her through only when the tide was high enough for a safe passage. Once the boat was through the passage, the porpoise would invariably put on a fascinating show of tail walks, jumps, and barrel rolls, seemingly in delight at a job well done. As the federal government began to place aids to navigation in the inlet, Hatteras Jack must have felt his work was no longer needed. He was seen less and less, and finally his visits ceased altogether.
Published here by kind permission of Claiborne S. Young's Cruising Guide
Photo by CoastalGuide shows a dolphin leading a freighter out of Beaufort Inlet, Atlantic Beach, NC
