Sightings are Precious

When you’re a volunteer on a whale watching boat, you want the passengers to be happy and to live a great experience. And since you are, most certainly, hooked on whales and orcas yourself, you pray you will be lucky enough to encounter them once again! But one question needs to be asked: would you be really as happy as you actually are when you get the chance to spot whales or orcas if their presence was guaranteed every day, on every trip?

So far, all of our excursions were lucky, with beautiful and emotional encounters with orcas, sperm whales and white-beaked dolphins. All of our trips, except two, and I really couldn’t help but feel sorry for the passengers. For many of them, this whale watching trip was a first time, and I could feel the sadness and disappointment in the end.

But this is exactly why such encounters are unique, unforgettable moments that live forever in one’s memories. Nature has its own laws and can be unpredictable. These animals are wild and free and can be unpredictable, too. They have their own lives, their own motivations, their own wishes.

If these experiences were guaranteed, how could they become precious? I only need to remember the first time I ever saw orcas last year: it was at the last moment of our trip, on the way to the harbour, when everybody had lost hope! I certainly believe this moment would not have been as special to me as it is now if we had encountered this whole group of orcas after sailing for only 30 or even 60 minutes!

This is why I enjoy so much living these experiences with Marie and her team. Many passengers ask me whether we use special devices or radar systems to locate exactly where the whales are. These magic devices do not exist and where would be the magic in that? Only observation and a good pair of binoculars are enough, when you know what to look for: blows and fins. And when they appear on the horizon, the moment becomes really exciting and emotional. It really feels like a privilege, a gift offered by nature itself.

Even without seeing orcas or whales, a boat trip off the coast of Iceland is absolutely worth it, with beautiful views and landscapes to admire whatever the season. For a successful boat tour, you have to remember that you can’t always be… successful. You may be disappointed but, in the end, on the day you will see a whale or an orca for the first time in your life, you may get moved enough to shed a tear or two, because it will be a true, natural, authentic encounter with the sea and its inhabitants.

I will continue to enjoy every one of our tours, even the ones without any sighting, for nature cannot and should not be tamed or commanded. Nature is not an amusement park where you get instantly what you want, and it should stay that way.