Seal hitches a ride with kayaker in the Forth

A cheeky seal shocked a seasoned kayaker by hitching a ride on board while he was out paddling.
A friendly seal hitched a ride on the kayak of Alistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian. Picture; SWNSA friendly seal hitched a ride on the kayak of Alistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian. Picture; SWNS
A friendly seal hitched a ride on the kayak of Alistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian. Picture; SWNS

Alistair Forrest, 40, was out with a local kayaking club when the seal climbed on board.

The engineer was around four miles east of the Forth Road Bridge, Edinburgh, when the grey seal began circling his boat.

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It is thought to have weighed between 90kg and 100kg as it forced the vessel to go halfway underwater.

Alistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian, was out with a local kayaking club when the seal climbed on board. Picture; SWNSAlistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian, was out with a local kayaking club when the seal climbed on board. Picture; SWNS
Alistair Forrest, 40, from Armadale, West Lothian, was out with a local kayaking club when the seal climbed on board. Picture; SWNS

Despite being “elated” with the encounter, Alistair, from Armadale, West Lothian, admitted to being apprehensive when the heavy mammal made its move.

He said: “I’ve seen plenty of seals in the Forth before but they’ve never got this close to me.

“I was, initially, a wee bit apprehensive because it’s such a heavy seal but once it got on board I was elated to be up so close.

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“The rest of the club went ahead without me but I stopped about three times to take pictures and film it. I couldn’t believe it.

“It was extremely heavy on the kayak. It must have weighed around 100kg because the entire back end of my kayak was beneath the water. “