Kayaker gets treated to display by 'show-off' dolphin off Sunderland's coast

Anthony Skordis from Red House only took up kayaking a few months ago. Very early on Tuesday, August 1 he was among seven kayakers watching the Roker sunrise. He took his camera along, more in hope than expectation.

Dolphins are not unknown in the area, but the group got to experience a pod of “20 or 30 dolphins”.

The kayakers did the right thing by not paddling deliberately close to the animals. But one particular dolphin was keen to show off; throwing a fish as it breached the water.

Anthony said: “A whole pod of dolphins came up to us. But we kept our distance; like you’re supposed to. I was drifting back from some of the others who were watching in the bay and I started filming.

“I love seeing dolphins. I’m used to it and it’s always exciting. I’ve been on the kayak maybe six times over the last few months. This was the first time that I actually got the experience of seeing dolphins right next to me.

“Seeing them so close is amazing. To see one jump next to you is also amazing. But to see one one jump up and fling a fish next to you is pretty cool.

“I was relieved that the fish didn’t land on my kayak with the dolphin coming aboard to retrieve it.

“We went out at 4am for the sunrise. When we arrived there were about four dolphins coming out of the bay while it was still quite dark.

"A bit later about 20 or 30 dolphins turned up. They were all over and they were there for about an hour.

“I was halfway between the bay and the lighthouse. I was trying not to get dragged out by the current, but not go near the dolphins either. So I stayed where I was to get some footage. I hadn’t zoomed in or anything. It was just very close.

“You can hear me say ‘Oh my God!’ as if I’d never seen a dolphin before. But it’s very different when you’re on a kayak.”

You can see the live footage at www.dailymotion.com/video/x8my0tz.