Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: An absolutely incredible tour today. We sailed out from Reykjavík harbour with completely flat sea conditions and an overcast. Our first encounter of the tour was after about 30 minutes of sailing. It was a minke whale that surfaced twice in the distance and since the sea conditions were so flat it was easy to spot animals far away. As we came closer to the area the minke never showed up again so we headed on further out. Pods of harbour porpoises circled our boat a few times during the tour but never showed them self more the few surface sequences. Overall we probably noticed 9-10 pods of porpoises as they kept popping up again and again. Our captain spotted a pod of white -beaked dolphins pretty far away from us and when we came closer it turned out to be two separate pods of 5-6 individuals. We stayed with one of the pods for some time but as the animals didn't seem to be in a mood for the boat we moved on. We were pretty far out into the bay when we spotted another minke whale. We managed to see this individual a few times a then got a message from another boat that a humpback whale had been spotted. As the time was limited we rushed to the area to have some time with the humpback. At this exact time it cleared up and the sun came out on the perfect time. The humpback whale was absolutely incredible. It was staying calm on the surface really close the Andrea (the other boat) when we arrived and the suddenly started to move around more. At one point we could see the hole body of the animal since it was so close to the surface, literally 10 meters from our boat. It then went on spy-hopping and rolling before it went down for a dive, waving us with its beautiful fluke. This was our time to say goodbye to this amazing creature. Really a terrific tour !!
- Katrín Björnsdóttir
Tour at 14:00
Report from Elding: Going for the 4th tour of the day in a completely flat sea and quiet good visibility that made it great to see far into the distance. We were sailing out for around half an hour when we had our first encounter with a pod of 3-4 harbour porpoises which were pretty close and enabled us to have a good look at them until they disappeared. We kept going out of Faxaflói for 20 more minutes when we met the first minke whale during this tour. It just surfaced a couple of times before it went for a deeper dive. However, two minutes later we had a great encounter with at least 6 white-beaked dolphins. They were around one of the RIB boats and then they came closer to check us out, some of them even went under the boat and showed up again at the back of the boat. Just few minutes after that we end up in the middle of an amazing encounter of minke whales. At least 6 individuals all around the boat at different distances. Wherever you looked you could see a minke. We stopped the engine and stay for a while enjoying the beautiful wildlife around Faxa Bay today. The moment we started heading back to Reykjavik, our captain spotted a harbour seal which came close to the boat showing us its head for few time while swimming along the boat. Great day full of life in Icelandic waters!
- Alejandro García
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: We left the harbour on a sea even quieter than in the morning. The surface of the bay was incredibly calm and made our visibility exceptional. In these conditions we were confident that it wouldn't take us long before spotting our first cetacean. A minke whale made this statement more than true by showing up very soon after we left the harbour while we were still quite close to the coast. The smoothness of the surface made it very easy for the passenger to see the several pods of harbour porpoises we encountered. About ten different groups of this elusive small cetaceans were seen on this tour. A bit further away in the bay we soon encountered a pod of half a dozen white-beaked dolphins. Their behavior was unusually quiet for this species and we managed to have very good looks at them. We left them alone when two minke whales surfaced a bit further. After following one of them and enjoying its company for several minutes we headed further West and met a group of seven white-beaked dolphins. This group was very relaxed too and they slowly swam alongside us for a while, coming sometimes so close to us that we started wondering who was watching who.
- Rémi Bigonneau
Tour at 10:00
Report from Elding: It was a beautifully calm day with little wind and a very flat sea. As Elding sailed out into the bay we were able to catch our first glimpse of the Atlantic puffin, a few of which were beating their wings rapidly in an attempt to take off from the waters surface. Further out in the bay a minke whale was spotted followed by a further 3-4 which surfaced at a range of distances around the boat. Eldey then told us via radio that they had a humpback whale further out in the bay, which we decided to check out. On the way out to the humpback multiple harbour porpoises were spotted surfacing several times and amazingly close to the boat! Usually these animals are very shy and elusive but not today it seems. From about 600 meters distance the humpback raised its beautiful fluke a few times in addition to performing 2 tail lobs which was incredible to watch! This animal then became very busy feeding and only surfaced once every 10 minutes or so. Another minke whale was then spotted in the distance so we decided to leave the humpback and give this minke whale a closer look. And were well rewarded as this minke whale came up numerous times and only a few meters from the boat. It was then time to start heading home but the steady stream to cetaceans did not end there. We had two more minke whales and another three pods of harbour porpoises to finish off a beautiful tour with some very happy passengers.
- Tess Hudson
Tour at 09:00
Report from Eldey: It was easy to tell from the beginning that this tour was going to be a special one. Considering the past two weeks, temperatures were quite warm, the sea was pale grey and calm, everything was set for perfect spotting conditions. And we were not disappointed ! About 45 minutes after departure we came across a pod of 6-10 harbour porpoises. They were surprisingly brave and did not try to avoid us. Still, having spotted some blows further away we decided to not stop for them. Quickly we found ourselves surrounded by 4 minke whales, surfacing smoothly all round us. Adding to the frenzy, we also spotted 2 humpback whales in the surrounding ! So we decided to settle for one and started to follow it. At first it was taking long deep dives and only surfacing scarcely. Fortunately, minke whales and harbour porpoises kept on surfacing around the boat, allowing us to be entertained while patiently waiting for the humpback to resurface. Our patience was rewarded as this whale displayed an impressive tail lob 3 times ! As we made a big loop in the same area, it is hard to say how many individuals we saw on this tour, but we might have met a total of 8-10 minke whales and 2-4 pods of harbour porpoises. Icing on the cake: on our way back to Reykjavik we spotted a pod of 4-6 white beaked dolphins. 4 species tours ! it was an incredible morning in Faxa Bay, and we hope it sets the tone for the whole day.
- Guillaume Calcagni
Bird species seen on today's tour include: Atlantic puffin, northern gannet, arctic terns, black-backed gull, bridled guillemot, kittiwake, arctic skua, northern fulmar & eider ducks
Status: RUNNING
We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today. It is a beautiful calm day even though the sun is not shining.
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