Kayakers treated to rare dolphins sighting off Welsh beach
The brothers were around three miles off the coast when they came across the pod of dolphins
Three kayakers off the coast of Aberavon couldn't believe their luck on Saturday when they were greeted by a pod of dolphins. Jamie Rigdon, who was with his brother Carl Rice and their friend Kieran Ladkoo about three miles from the beach near Port Talbot on Saturday morning, saw the dolphins some way off before realising they were coming straight for them.
'We saw them in the distance and then they disappeared and then we saw them again and they started to get closer and closer,' Jamie said.
'It was a sizeable pod and they stayed around us for a good couple of minutes swimming below us and in between us. It was incredible. A beautiful day for it as well.'
Carl Rice, kayaker, captured brilliant footage of a pod of dolphins off the coast of Aberavon beach
(Image: Carl Rice )
It is common for bottlenose dolphins to be seen off the coast of west Wales, particularly near Cardigan Bay which is home to Britain's largest population of dolphins.
There are plenty of dolphin hotspots in west Wales including at Aberystwyth, Aberaeron and New Quay, but it isn't common for them to be seen in south Wales.
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Jamie added: 'They stayed around us for a couple of minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes. I've lived here all my life and have never known of dolphins in the sea here.'
It happened on the hottest day of the year in Wales and the warmest day since July 2022 when temperatures reached well over 30C - the perfect day for the brothers to train for a fundraising event in memory of their late father who had dementia.
Jamie Rigdon said he couldn't believe his luck after seeing the pod of dolphins while kayaking with his brother and their friend
(Image: Carl Rice )
'There's a local charity in Port Talbot called Me Myself and I and they looked after my father,' Jamie said. 'They're a charity which helps people with dementia and they're incredible.
'They also looked after my brother's mother-in-law. They've done a hell of a lot for our family so we wanted to give something back to them.
'We've set ourselves a challenge to kayak across the English Channel from Rye Harbour all the way across to the French coast.'
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So far they've raised more than £1,000. You can see the fundraiser here.
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