TUESDAY, 28 JUNE 2016

Status: Whale Watching tour at 20:30 pm CANCELED

Unfortunately we have had to cancel our whale watching tour tonight at 20:30 pm on 28.06.2016 due to rough sea conditions
Please contact us at +3545195000 or at elding@elding.is

Tour at 17:00

Report from Elding: It was even windier than in the afternoon so this time we warned everyone before the tour started about rough sea conditions. We headed north into the wind, it felt cold but because we stayed close to the mountains the swell was not that high. When we reached Akranes we turned west and went further out on the bay, it got a bit bumpy but s soon as we turned south we were sailing with the wind and the swell sop it felt warm and smooth. We then spotted dolphins 400 meters away but sadly were never able to get good looks at them. We kept on going, scanning the surface and slowed down every time we traveled past big flocks of birds. The only sighting we got was of two bods of 4-5 harbour porpoises. It can often be difficult to spot them, and even more challenging in rough weather but we managed to stay with them for 2-3 minute so most of our passengers could see them. Even though we could see the porpoises on the tour we would like to give our passengers another chance to see the larger species of the bay. all of our passengers were offered a complimentary ticket so they can join us for another tour, I hope to see you all soon. 

-Sigurlaug Sigurðardóttir

Tour at 14:00

Report from Eldey: The sail out in the bay were a rougher than the morning so we decided to follow the coastline of Reykjavik and the penninsula of Reykjanes to avoid the big swells further out in the bay. After about 45 min we saw a big splash in the horizon and we started to wonder if that possible could be a breaching humpback whale or maybe the minke whale that another whale watching boat had seen previous today. To find out we headed towards the direction of the splash. Unfortunately we could not find any whale in this area so we turned around and started to search in areas closer to Akranes. The sailing was more pleasant with the wind in our backs but sadly we could not find any cetaceans on this tour. Therefore we offered complimentary tickets to our passengers so that they can come back on another tour with us within the next two years and hopefully experience more wildlife in Icelandic waters.

- Johanna Bergman

Tour at 13:00

Report from Elding: The wind had picked up a lot compared to the morning and clouds had won the battle against the sun, when we sailed out this afternoon, but our overalls kept us dry and comfy on board of Elding. We sailed out into the bay to look for cetaceans and wildlife and soon realized that it would be a little fun rollercoaster ride. After about an hour of sailing we heard from another boat that a minke whale had been seen in this area and went to check it out. However, this individual seemed to be quite shy so that it had left, when we reached the area and it was difficult to find it again. Therefore we continued our search south of Akranes, but the whales did not seem to be in the area this afternoon, so after another hour of searching, we returned to Reykjavik. Since we had not spot whales or dolphins this was a complimentary tour. May there be more wildlife around next time, when our passengers will embark on their second tour.

- Barbara Neubarth

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding II and Skrúður: Our 10 o´clock tour today was split up on two of our smaller boats, Elding II and Skrúður, ELding II left a bit earlier to look for cetaceans in Faxaflói than Skrúður. Out in the bay, Elding II spotted a few white-beaked dolphins after about an hour and was able to spent a short while with them. When a couple of other boats arrived in the same area they disappeared and even though Skrúður spent some time to find them as well, they were nowhere to be seen. The boats moved on heading further out and to the south to look for more cetaceans. After a while without any signs of more whales or dolphins, both Elding II and Skrúður headed towards an area where more of these dolphins had been spotted. We saw 3 of them bow-riding in front of another boat and then traveling around showing themselves quite well to all passengers. However, just after a few minutes they vanishhed and despite a thorough search in the area we were not able to find them again. Afterwards, Elding II went further south and came across a minke whale that the passengers were able to get a look at several times. Skrúður was less lucky, we headed further to the west and had to turn back to the harbour a bit earlier without spotting any more cetaceans on the way. Therefore, the passengers on Skrúður were offered complimentary tickets to come back on anoter tour with us within the next two years. I wish you all more luck on the next tour! 

- Hanna Michel

Tour at 09:00

Report from Elding/Harpa: We started the morning with blue sky, sunshine and only a little wind. The ocean was very flat and we could see kilometers far. °two two boats split up so we could search over wider area. Only after 40 minutes of sailing we encountered two pods of white beaked dolphins, one small with only 2 individuals and one larger with 5-6. We could stay with these animals for a while and get good looks at them. They surfaced close to the boats so that everybody could take really nice pictures of them. We continued our search and went further out on the bay. We saw a lot of seabirds and could watch the adorable Atlantic puffins, Harpa unfortunately did not see any more whales or dolphins but Elding was able to find two more pods of dolphins. One pod of 7 dolphins started following the boat on high speed and started bow riding so everyone got great looks at them. Elding also spotted a minke whale that was rather elusive so only few passengers got to see it. Then it was time for us to turn around and enjoy the sailing back under a sunny sky. A good morning out at sea.

- Barbara Neubarth and Sigurlaug Sigurðardóttir

Bird species seen on todays tours include: northern gannet, northern fulmar, herring gull, glaucous gull, lesser black-backed gull, greater black backed gull, kittiwake, common guillemot, black guillemot, atlantic puffin, eider duck, arctic skua and arctic tern