Donna Kalez, who operates Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, has spent the last weeks issuing more than $100,000 in refunds to hundreds of people and groups who had booked whale watching and fishing trips.
For a while, she was hopeful trips booked in April might still be valid. But, earlier this week when President Donald Trump announced a continuing shut down to reduce the spread of coronavirus until the end of April, Kalez realized it was over for a popular, sold-out eight-hour whale watching trip scheduled for April 19.
“We were hoping we would be open by that time,” she said. “We’ve lost all our group and corporate bookings. The hotels here that have zero occupancies, those are our bookings. The impact is overwhelming. We’ve lost 100% of our income.”
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Kalez operates the harbor’s oldest business, which will celebrate its 49th anniversary on May 15. Her videos of amazing whale encounters off Dana Point and along south county beaches almost always go viral.
Now, her 17 boats sit idle at Dana Wharf. Kalez has laid off 42 employees, including boat captains and deckhands. A small crew of four are still working, doing daily checks on the boats to make sure they are safe and operational. Kalez’s father, Don Hansen, is credited for starting whale watching in Southern California, when in 1958 he began taking San Clemente school children out on his fishing boats off the San Clemente pier as a way to educate them about the ocean’s wildlife.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus shutdown, Kalez and two other iconic harbor businesses are doing their best to keep customers engaged and themselves relevant. Wind & Sea, the harbor’s oldest restaurant, which celebrates 48 years in October, and Coffee Importers, which last summer celebrated 40 years, are doing their best to hang on.
As a way to keep the joy of ocean life and whale watching alive, Kalez recently debuted “Nona the Naturalist.”
Nona Reimer is a retired Capistrano Unified School District teacher who is doing live lessons on gray and humpback whales from her home. Recently, she presented a math lesson where kids learned to do calculations related to the gray whale migrations, which go from the Bering Sea in Alaska, past Orange County, to the lagoons in Baja.
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“People are really excited to see these,” Kalez said – the mini videos shows are posted on Instagram, Facebook and this week began on YouTube. Todd Mansur, one of Kalez’s boat captain, will start programs on whales next week – many will include whale encounters from 2019.
April is often the month when blue whales – the largest of the earth’s creatures – are first spotted. Mansur, a whale naturalist, will simulate an actual charter trip and discuss what it’s like to be out seeing the behemoths up close.
Wyland, an artist known worldwide for his paintings of whales and dolphins, also is stepping up to help Kalez. He will be featured in art lessons people can do at home. Typically March and April are the months that Kalez has Wyland’s art programs for kids aboard her boats.
“We can’t generate income, we’re just trying to keep whale watching and sport fishing relevant,” Kalez said. “We’ve never been closed more than a day in our history.”
Just on the other side of Kalez’s docked fleet, Jay Stiles, longtime manager at Wind & Sea, is doing his best to keep things afloat for the popular harbor go-to. Famous for it Mai-Tai cocktails, Hawaiian chicken sandwich and calamari strips, the restaurant is offering a curbside Happy Hour daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Stiles said that Wind & Sea didn’t decide to do curbside until regulatory relief offered by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control allowed restaurants to sell take-away beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
“Never doubt the power of the Mai-Tai,” Stiles said. “On the first day, we sold 101 and last Friday, we did 270.”
Restaurant staff is practicing social distancing, washing their hands and wearing masks and protective gear.
“It’s worth it, we’re covering our cost and making a little money,” he said. “It seems to be fulfilling what people want. It’s a pretty good deal to get Happy Hour all day. It gives people a good reason to come down to the harbor.”
Still, like all other shuttered restaurants, there are also massive impacts. The Wind & Sea’s staff of 120 has been cut down to 20 part-time employees.
Coffee Importers, known for unique deli items, coffee specialty drinks and its ice cream, typically is packed most days and serves hundreds.
Some go just for the coffee, others to meet friends. Some are refueling after a morning jaunt around the harbor. On the third Friday of every month, Coffee Importers is known for its famed Coffee Chat, a forum featuring community-interest topics.
But, now the familiar green umbrellas are closed and the patios overlooking the harbor are empty.
Owner Jim Miller says his sales are down 70 percent, but his staff of 36 are still working. Huge hits for takeout are the famed California bagel for $8 and the Dana bagel for $6.75.
“I’ve had no lay-off’s,” he said. “My staff seems very happy to still have a job and enjoy coming to work.”
Those picking up food at Coffee Importers can drive up curbside or park in the boater’s parking lot adjacent to the restaurant.
On Friday, Miller started online ordering which makes the process even easier.
Read more: ocregister.com.