Exeter paddleboarder films close encounter with pod of dolphins in Brixham
The incredible footage captured by the Dolphin Lady.
An Exeter paddleboarder has filmed a close encounter with a pod of dolphins off the coast of Brixham.
Isabelle O'Shea, known as The Dolphin Lady on social media, came across the pod on 9 May in the Berry Head area.
After some waiting around, she spotted the pod and they decided to race her back to the shore.
She said on Facebook: "After what felt like a very long winter, I went out for my first paddle of the year last night.
"I decided to head out to Berry Head after carefully checking out the tides and currents but by the time I got there, I had apparently missed them by 15 minutes.
"It was such a beautiful evening I decided to wait for a while whilst watching guillemots fly over my head with the warmth of the evening sun on my back.
“Patience paid off as I watched a small pod of dolphins heading out to Torquay.
"Common dolphins are generally quite playful and nosey so I decided to up my speed and started paddling back to shore as fast as I could.
"Before I knew it I had two dolphins on each side of my paddle board, one under it and one in front of it. The memory will stay with me forever."
It is not the first time Isabelle has had this kind of encounter. Last summer she got up close to a pod of 25-30 dolphins.
She said: “Berry Head is the best place to paddleboard and see them, but the currents are quite dangerous, so I’m limited to the amount of time I can go.
“But I also see them in Brixham or Labrador Bay.”