FRIDAY, 10 JUNE 2016

Tour at 17:00

Report from Eldey: It was the last tour of the day and skies remaind cloudy and there was light rain. There was little wind too and the sea conditions were great allowing for clear sightings of the first species of the tour, harbour porpoises. Some came quite close to boat which was really nice to see. In total, we saw about 6-7 of them. Shortly after we had a sighting of one minke whale about 500m ahead of the boat. Another minke whale also appeared shortly after, a few hundred metres behind the boat. Unfortunately, both whales were quite elusive so we decided to head further out to see what else we could find. We weren't disappointed. A pod of about 8 white-beaked dolphins appeared in the distance. There was lots of splashing and then some of the dolphins started breaching. They disappeared under the water for a short while, before 3 adults appeared swimming in a row towards the bow of the boat. We could see them so well in the clear, still water. Then a number of the dolphins began breaching again and some were tail-slapping. It was fantastic to see them being so active, especially as there were two young calves within the group that were breaching too. It was quite a show and wonderful to see. Unfortunately, the fun had come to an end as the dolphins decided it was time to move on and it was time for us to head back to the harbour. What a fantastic way to end the tour. On the way back we did have another sighting of a minke whale but it was brief as we only saw it surface a couple of times.

- Julia Benson

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: The wind had picked up a little bit on our afternoon tours but the sea conditions were still beautiful. The first species to be encountered was again a minke whale. We only got to see it three times but the last time was only 50 m away from us so everyone could see it. After that it went for a long dive and we ran out of patience to wait for it. Therefore, we moved on  but shortly after saw a huge dark shadow underneath the water surface quite close to us and swimming underneath us - a humpback whale! This individual was resting and in the beginning went for a very long dive and making us desperate to see it again. When we were about to leave, it came up again and then it surfaced more frequently. Also, we were able to follow it with our eyes under the water surface almost throughout the entire rest of the encounter. It stayed within 150 m and once swam right underneath the bow of our boat und surfaced right next to us! Absolutely breath-taking! Then we saw it once more before moving on to find something else. We kept searching and found another 2-3 minke whales but they were being quite elusive and going for very long dives. At some point we gave up on the minkes and started heading home just to find a pod of about 8 white-beaked dolphins! They were coming quite close so that we also got to see a playful calf leaping out of the water and a couple of juvenile animals! The perfect ending for the tour! 

- Hanna Michel

Tour at 13:00

Report from Eldey: We were going for the third tour of the day in a cloudy sky and chilly afternoon with a big team of almost 100 people on board, all of them very enthusiastic and helpful during the whole trip. We manage to work as a team spotting cetacean and seabirds along Faxaflói. No further out from the port we came across into a group of 6-7 harbour porpoises for as few seconds. We kept going out into the bay when suddenly a group of at least 7 white beaked dolphins showed up in front of the boat. Three of them were literally resting in the area, swimming very slow and even logging (resting at the surface) for some minutes. The rest of the group were quiet calm as well, nevertheless after a while the started to speed up fast surfacing away from the boat. No much long we had to wait to find bigger animals. 3 minke whales were around the boat allowing us to take some good pictures of their curve and pointy dorsal fin. While we were enjoying our time with the minkes, a humpback whale was spotted a bit further out so we decided to come closer and see the 4th species within the tour. The animal was resting at the surface of the water, same way as the dolphins. We manage to see it for several times before to start heading back to the port. In our way back, we could see some more porpoises and dolphins at the distance, and some of the passengers were brave enough to be out the whole trip even with a bit of rain on our heads, but definitely worth it to enjoy the beautiful landscape. Chill feeling in the Bay today!

- Alejandro Garcia

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: The sea conditions were ideal for spotting cetaceans this morning. Cloudy and not rough at all. After 40 minutes of sailing we encountered our first species. A couple of pods of habour porpoises with around 6 individuals in total. They got pretty close to the boat! I was really excited to see them that close for the first time this season. We stopped a bit to have a better look and after a few minutes we spotted the first minke whale. It was not alone in the area. Within a few minutes we could see there were more around. I counted at least 4 individuals. They did not seem to go one direction or the other only. Also, people could see them surfacing a few times. After the minke party we headed further into the bay to look for more species. We got a call from other boats saying that there was a humpback whale about 20 minutes from where we were. Our way there was filled up with bird sightings. Also, we caught a few glimpses of minkes in the distance but we were aiming for the humpback whale. As soon as we got there, Rosin (the other whale-watching boat) was waiting for the whale to come up again as it had gone down for a deep dive. We waited for quite a long time. Maybe 20 minutes or more when, all of a sudden, there it was! our sleepy humpback! I say sleepy because, after witnessing its behaviour for the next 20 minutes I´d say it was mostly resting but you never know with whales. The best thing about this encounter is that after a few small dives it just popped up about 10 meters from the right side of the boat. After that we had to leave the humpback behind but it was not over. On our way back to the harbour we spotted another group of minke whales. I counted at least 6 of them scattered in the area around the boat. Also this time they were a bit closer than before! People could even get pictures of some of them. Also a few more harbour porpoises showed up in the distance but we did not stop to get any close because we were already running out of time. In my opinion a great tour!!

- Jorge Pascual

Tour at 09:00

Report from Eldey: We set sail on a slightly drizzly and overcast day, however, this did not dampen our sprits as the sea was brilliantly flat. After sailing for several minutes a pod 4-5 harbour porpoises was spotted, these usually shy and elusive animals were very playful and even came up to the boat to have a better look at us! They played around in our wake and then moved off. It was decided to move further off in the bay to search for some slightly larger animals and to our delight not one but four minke whales surfaced within 400 meters. They surfaced a few times before arching their long backs and going for a deeper dive. After watching these animals for some time, a large flock of feeding sea birds were spotted in the distance so we decided to take a closer look. When searching the surrounding area five more minkes were spotted between 40-800 meters. We observed the individuals close at hand and then moved off to see an individual further away which was making rather large splashes. On our way out a few more pods of harbour porpoises were spotted only a few meters away. When taking a closer look at the minke it was believed that this animal was lunge feeding (taking large gulps of water, fish and krill). It was moving pretty fast and erratically so most likely following the schooling fish. It was then time to head back but to continue the amazing abundance of wildlife yet another 6-7 minkes surfaced and 3 more pods of harbour porpoises. 

- Tess Hudson 

Bird species seen on today's tours include: northern gannet, northern fulmar, black-backed gull, arctic tern, common guillemot, black guillemot, razorbill, atlantic puffin, eider duck, arctic skua and manx shearwater.