Friday, 30 May 2014

Tour at 17:00

Report from Elding: We went to the same area as on the other tours today but unfortunately the only cetaceans we encountered were a small pod (5-10) of Harbour Porpoises. We first saw them suddenly about 50 meters in front of the boat, from where they continued to the right and then swam alongside the boat towards the back; most of the time showing themselves quite well even if they were swimming fast. Finally they turned towards us but then vanished. We then continued searching for Minke Whales but it seems they had decided not to work overtime today as none were seen. Oh, how unpredictable nature is sometimes and yet facinating. We offered our passengers complimentary tickets in the hope they will have more luck next time.

- Baldur

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The wind had picked up a bit more in the afternoon and the sea was a bit choppy as we headed out again. But this tour rewarded us for the roller coaster ride! Again, it was the birds that gave us the most important clue on where to find the whales. There were 2 Minke Whales feeding with the birds and as we followed one of them a bit further we discovered quite a treat! In the distance there was another minke - breaching time and time again! We moved closer towards it and enjoyed what must have been well over 20 breaches in total! Sometimes it seemed as if the whale had to take a break and gather some more strength before the show went on again. We watched the same individual for over 15 minutes, just enjoying the amazing performance. Again, we crossed the path of some scattered Harbour Porpoises over the trip (around 10 in total). Because we had headed quite far out it was then time to start sailing back. But on the way we found another 2 minkes which we watched for a while before returning to Reykjavík. What an unbelievable afternoon!!

- Megan and Baldur

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafúslan and Elding: When we headed out into the bay this morning the sky was overcast, but there was no rain in sight. Unfortunately the humpback whales we had seen the night before had moved away from the city and were nowhere to be found. But following a flock of feeding birds we did manage to find a great feeding area - or so it seemed. There must have been around 4-6 Minke Whales all around us. Some of them surfaced very close to the boats and gave us nice looks at some of their feeding behaviours. Others were traveling a bit faster further off in the distance. We traveled alongside one of them on our way back to Reykjavik until we had to head back and the whale turned in the other direction again. All throughout the trip we repeatedly saw scattered Harbour Porpoises (around 15 in total), some of which came surprisingly close to the boat. All in all quite a successful tour!

-Linda and Megan

Birds seen on today's tours include: Black backed seagulls, kittiwakes, northern gannets, arctic skuas, eider ducks, fulmars, puffins, common guillemots, razorbills, manx shearwaters, arctic terns.