Dad and daughter paddleboarders took a sharp intake of breath amid a ‘wow’ moment when a sea turtle swam with them off East Devon.
The plucky sea creature swam alongside paddleboarders Geoff, 45, and 17-year-old Lilly, at Beer, East Devon, before the pair spotted it again later in the day, off Seaton.
Animal lover Geoff, who recently returned to East Devon after living in America for 23 years, saw the creature gobbling up jellyfish before it sped off out to sea.
Geoff, who quickly filmed the sea turtle as it swam underneath the paddleboard, initially thought the dark shape floating in the water was a piece of rubbish dumped at sea.
The paddleboarders’ first glimpse of the sea turtle in the water.
Images: with permission
The sea turtle was seen up ahead, a dark shape in the water.
Image: with permission
Geoff first thought the object in the water was an old dustbin dumped at sea.
Image: with permission.
The dark shape in the water up ahead was a jellyfish-eating sea turtle. Image: with permission
Lilly gasped with shock when the reptile popped its head out of the water, and began swimming around and beneath them several times.
Geoff, from Beer, said: “We saw something, we thought maybe it was maybe a bin, that somebody had dropped a bin in the sea. Then as we got closer, we could see ridges on the back.
“It looked like some sort of reptile it hadn’t looked up at this point, it was just its shell.
“As we got closer, to figure out what this thing was, it popped its head up, and wow it was a sea turtle.”
The sea turtle swam around the paddleboarders.
Image: with permission.
The sea creature spent several minutes with the paddleboarders.
Image: with permission
The paddleboarders were shocked to spot a giant sea turtle off Beer, East Devon.
Image: with permission
The dark shape in the water up ahead was a jellyfish-eating sea turtle. Image: with permission
Geoff: “As we got closer, to figure out what this thing was, it popped its head up, and wow it was a sea turtle.”
Image: with permission
The sea creature spent several minutes with the paddleboarders before it swam away, disappearing into the water at an impressive speed as the amazed dad and daughter quietly watched on.
“We didn’t harass or bother it,” said Geoff. “It could get away at any time. It was free to do whatever it wanted.”
The paddleboarders were amazed when the creature spent several minutes swimming nearby and in the water underneath them.
Image: with permission
The sea turtle swam with the paddleboarders before it disappeared in the water.
Image: with permission
The giant sea turtle spotted in East Devon waters.
Image: with permission
Geoff said he had seen sea turtles in Hawaii and Egypt, but the one that appeared before them was far bigger in size.
“I have never seen one this size, it was absolutely huge,” he said. “It was pretty fantastic. We stopped paddling and just watched it and it just kept swimming around us and underneath the paddleboard.
“There was no wind disturbing the water, it was so calm. It swam underneath about three or four times then it disappeared and we looked up and it was about 200 metres away. I don’t know how it swam that far so quickly.
“We headed over to Seaton and saw it again. I didn’t know they existed in the UK. They do show up from time to time, but it’s quite rare.
“I think it’s because of the jellyfish, they were all around in the water and he was gobbling them whole.”
The sea turtle swam beneath the paddleboard.
Image: with permission
At Seaton, a crowd gathered on the beach to catch a glimpse of the sea creature.
Geoff said he and his daughter went ashore to get a drink and spoke to some of the onlookers.
“There was a guy on the beach at Seaton with binoculars. He said the last time he saw a sea turtle here was in 1976 on Seaton beach.
“We stopped to get a drink in the white hut. There was quite a group of spectators. They were standing on the prom with binoculars.”
Lilly gasped with shock when the giant reptile popped its head out of the water. Image: with permission
Geoff, who six months ago left Northville, New York, moving back to East Devon to wed his childhood sweetheart, is no stranger to animal antics.
At his former home in the States, he was regularly visited by deer and coyote that became tame enough to handfeed.
“I am very lucky like that,” said Geoff, who joked how animals knew he was a non-meat eater. “I have been swimming in Hawaii and seen a whole bunch of dolphins.
“I think what it is, is I have been vegetarian for 45 years and its repayment for that.
“And I think part of having this experience is being outside and not in your living room.”
According to the Marine Conversation Society (MCS) there are seven marine turtle species – six have been spotted in the UK.
The leatherback is the largest marine turtle, and the species most frequently seen in UK waters because of its ability to metabolically raise its body temperature so it can survive in colder waters.
The MCS said leatherback turtles migrate to UK waters every summer to feed on jellyfish.
- You can report turtle sightings on the Marine Conversation Society website, here.
