Oceanside Burial at Sea

We came to California to lay the ashes of our family members to rest--Grandpa Mori, Jay, and Grandma Sue. Our family chartered a boat from Oceanside, CA that took us out on the Pacific for the burial. As we boated out to a private spot, the Captain shut off the boat and we spoke a few words for the deceased. However, as we all gazed in silence, the boat rocking back and forth with the waves, our Captain suddenly spotted a pod of dolphins swimming along the horizon. Before we knew it, the pod had grown to thousands, spanning the horizon for as far as we could see.

They turned and came towards our still boat, breaching the water and surrounding us. It was an awesome sight. Their presence was awe-inspiring, their arrival to the funeral gave us goosebumps. It was almost as if they arrived to greet us and carry our beloved family members back home. We all stood, breathless, watching the dolphins and spreading our family member's ashes into the ocean as Grandma Sue's favorite song, Moon River, played in the background. The boat circled the place where we laid our family members to rest and, as we headed back, the dolphins swam in front of the boat and escorted us back to the harbor. Twenty to thirty dolphins at a time would surf in front of our boat, taking turns, as more joined in.

Our Captain said, in his 25 years at sea, he had never seen anything like it. We could not imagine a better way to say goodbye to our loved ones.

Kodii and I made this video so we can always remember this wonderful day. Unfortunately, the film does not do the dolphins justice, for no film could capture the awesome sight of thousands of dolphins as far as the eye could see. Please enjoy. . .