BEHIND THE SCENES
What it takes to bring a whale to you.
7:30am, high season, the ticket center opens the doors, blue jackets on. Phone starts ringing, computers on to check on emails and bookings and first guests come in. We deliver the first tickets of the morning; tickets that have been previously designed by Halli, printed and sent to us for the season. Our ticket office gets busier and busier with more blue jackets and guests; some come here to buy the tickets, others call us or book online. We have a brand new web site thoroughly designed; blue colors. Lots of work and effort was put on it this winter; extensive info about our tours and company can be found together with an easy and quick booking system. Check it out!
While the ticket office gets crowded, the captains and guides start preparing the boats. More blue jackets on. Engines on. The boats undergo maintenance and improvements over the winter and safety on board is examined before the season starts. Captains have checked on weather and sea conditions early morning and the boats were fueled last night. Our captains know every single corner of the bay. They have been fishing in these waters for decades and could take you out in the bay with their eyes closed. You are in good hands.
60 overalls need to be brought on deck for our passengers. Our strong guides need a good breakfast. They spend long hours out at sea and only standing out in the wind is already a high calorie burn. They’ve all been trained on safety and crowd and crisis management. You are in good hands. Clean toilet, hot water, cacao powder, kleinur… checked! Everything is ready. Kleinur? Yes, kleinur, the twisted doughnut. It’s freshly baked in a local bakery and sent to us: it’s just perfect with the hot chocolate you’ll get on the way back.
Passengers get on the boat, put their overalls on and feel the excitement of what’s about to come. The blue ocean awaits. Guide and captain check that everyone is onboard and get ready for departure. Ropes are released, off you go! While you are relaxing and enjoying the boat ride, there is hectic activity going on: the guide is looking out everywhere in search of whales and the captain is contacting other colleagues out at sea to check on sightings and location. That radio is on all day and it’s precious. I know, you wish you could understand what they say!
And suddenly something is going on. Passengers feel some excitement in the air. The captain and guide have spotted a high blow in the distance but you don’t see it at the beginning. The boat gets closer and closer and your excitement grows and grows. Finally you manage to see that blow. You’re almost there. Where is it? Six o’clock! And there it is… A whale, for you.
- María (Ticket Sales & Guide)
