The life of a Seafari guide may appear to some to be all adventure and fun but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that you probably don’t know about.
Our mornings can sometimes start very early if we have an early morning Whirlpool Special trip. None of us ever complain about the early start though as a Whirlpool Special is always a great (if rather wet) way to start to the day.
Carolyn and the crew enjoying an early morning Whirlpool Special.
Our commute to work took some getting used to. As we all live on Easdale island we use a small dinghy to get across to Ellenabeich for work. The crossing only takes a few minutes but can be interesting on a windy day.
Once the shop is opened up it’s then all about getting ready for the days trips. Waterproofs need sorting, boats need fueling, emails need answering, tickets need writing and seagull poo needs cleaning up. You’d be amazed at how much mess a seagull can make in such a short time.
During quieter days when we are not all on trips there are always chores to be done. Most days the boats need refuelling. The boats also need regular checks, maintenance and cleaning (did I mention the seagull poo?).
When you live on a small island getting big stuff delivered can be a bit tricky.
Some of the more “interesting” jobs we have had when not on the boats include aquatic gardening (clearing seaweed from the harbour walls and pontoons), replacing mooring chains, painting the perches and transporting a huge boat trailer using a tiny dinghy (i’m sure the boat is supposed to go on the trailer, not the other way round).
Claire de-weeding underneath the pontoon.
At the end of the day when the guests have all gone home there is still work to do before we can put our feet up. There is the shop and the trailer to close down, wet waterproofs to go back over to Easdale Island to be hung up in the drying room and the days photographs to go through. Taking the waterproofs to the drying room is a chore on its own. With no roads on Easdale we have to transport anything heavy with a wheelbarrow.
Sarah using the crew wheelbarrow – the only for on transport on the island.
In the evening the crew like to unwind in a few different ways. Sometimes swimming in the quarries, running around the island or doing circuits in the hall.
Sarah & Claire swimming in the quarry
Don’t be fooled into thinking we are really healthy and adventurous, we enjoy our fair share of visits to the Puffer or Oyster bar and the odd West Wing DVD marathon. We’ve even ventured out as far as Oban for a night out once but it was a little strange to start our night out by checking tide times, making sure we had life jackets and torches and asking the ferry men to move our dinghy further down the jetty to make sure it wasn’t stranded when we got back.
The Seafari crew heading out in the dinghy for a night out in Oban.