Polperro DolphinSwims

Three generations of the Muir family have run these wild dolphin and seal swims in Port Phillip Bay for over 35 years, working from their own boat rather than a chartered roster. That vessel, ‘Polperro’, is a classic Huon-pine displacement boat built by the Pompei brothers at Mordialloc, its hull cut from a single tree recovered from the bottom of Lake Pedder — the same boat that started dolphin-swim tours on the bay. The crew is the draw: sons Troy and Ben skipper, and senior guide and resident marine biologist Jess Beckham first came aboard at thirteen and has clocked more than 25 years on the water. Trips run three hours from Sorrento Pier under a ‘conservation through education’ ethos, with lighter-touch sightseeing and wildlife cruises alongside the in-water swims.