Whale watching: We wanted to be there but not disturb the animals

We didn't just jump straight in the water as soon as we spotted the whales for the first time. We wanted to be there but not disturb the them, so we spent a whole day just watching the whales from the boat. And the first time we got in the water, we didn’t see any whales at all. But after a few tries, they came to us. They looked at us, swam around us and then moved on. My pulse was racing. It was out of this world. And I wasn’t afraid. It was intense – seeing these creatures was an unforgettable spectacle. When they swim and glide through the water, it feels so harmonious. It seemed as if they were doing their thing and would look to see what we were doing before getting back to devouring their herring.

After almost a week, we spotted our first killer whales. The feeling when you see orcas is simply fantastic. The way they swim and move in the water is spectacular. And given the coronavirus pandemic, there were no whale watching boats on the water this year. So we were almost totally alone with them. It was just us and a few fishing vessels.

A warm cabin and unobstructed views

After being in the cold water in our wetsuits, it is extremely important to get dry as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we could have developed frostbite, especially as the temperature was in minus figures and the wind we had to deal with in this region was ice cold. So that meant we had to get in the boat and warm up as soon as we could. Not only did the Webasto parking heater help us to get warm quickly, it also directed the flow of air at the windows. This was important, as otherwise a lot of condensation would develop in the cabin and steam up the windows so that we could no longer see out of them. This is usually a real safety risk. But the panes stayed clear with the boat’s heating system. So not only did Webasto up our comfort levels on our trip, it was also our guardian angel in some respects.

Whale watching with state-of-the-art technology

When you're out in a small boat on the North Atlantic Ocean, having reliable professional equipment on board is extremely important. We relied solely on Webasto and its tried-and-tested heating solutions. We could simply switch on the heating in advance, no matter where we were, thanks to the ThermoConnect app. When we then got to the boat, the snow and ice on the windows had already melted. It was also really easy to install the Webasto parking heater, and we received excellent support from the Webasto support team. There’s a lot to keep in mind with this kind of project, so it’s great when you can just tick off things like the parking heater and know that it will work reliably. This helps us to concentrate on the actual work. I think we managed to get some great shots. Our whale watching trip was an experience I will never forget. I’m very thankful for it.