Status 7pm tour: CANCELLED
Unfortunately the wind has picked up and due to unfavorable sea condition we have decided to cancel the tour at 7 pm. For more information, please contact us at +354 519 5000 or elding@elding.is.
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: The wind was still pretty strong so the passengers onboard could experience the roller coaster of Iceland when we sailed out of the harbour on the choppy sea. We had to sail for a long time before we saw our first cetacean which was a minke whale. Unfortunately this minke whale was very elusive, swimming very fast and changing directions so it was hard to keep up with it. We mostly just saw the blow from it when it came up to the surface. We lost track of the minke whale pretty fast and sailed further out in the bay to search for more wildlife. The sun was still shinning very bright but the wind was cold, so all passengers were dressed up in overalls and were helping out spotting. Finally, after almost 2,5 hours sailing we heard from another whale watching boat that there was a humpback whale in the area so we set sail towards them. We saw several blows but then the whale went down for a deeper dive. It seemed to take a long time underneath the surface, but finally it surfaced again and now we could see the back and the white flippers of the whale just underneath the surface. The humpback surfaced a couple of times before it went for a deeper dive again and so we waited again. Minutes passed and we decided to turn back home, but just doing so the humpback surfaced again 50 m away from the boat! It was a great end of the tour to see it so close! I don't think the passengers didn't mind being back 40 minutes too late to harbour after seeing this beautiful humpback!
- Johanna Bergman
Tour at 14:00
Report from Elding: That's it, this succession of amazing weather and easy sightings could not have lasted forever ! The sun was shining bright on our tour, but as soon as we left the harbour a wind stronger than this morning greeted us out there in the bay. So the first half of our journey was choppy, we were taking swells on the side of the boat and the wind bas blowing right in our face. Because of the weather, there was white caps everywhere on this, which was a major hindrance for spotting any cetaceans. After reaching the coast of Akranes, we turned back and moved slowly toward Reykjavik and at this point our conditions improved significantly. We had the wind in the back, we were moving in the same direction than the waves, so it was a calmer and easier ride. We could focus more on checking out our surroundings, looking for whales, but unfortunately either the part of the bay we were in was empty, either the whales were too good at the hide and seek game. Sometimes we have to experience defeat, and this was one of these extremely unlucky occasions. Complimentary tickets were handed over to our passengers, we really hope to see you again on our boat guys !
- Guillaume Calcagni
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: The wind had grown a bit stronger when we sailed out this afternoon, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue so we were ready to enjoy a lovely afternoon out at sea. Our overalls kept us warm and comfy and soon we saw a minke whale. But it turned out to be quite elusive so that we soon continued further out. After about 2 hours of sailing we encountered another minke whale which continued changing its directions rather unpredictably so it was quite difficult to have it on the side. Therefore it was hard to see the whale for all passengers. Those were the only 2 whales we saw this afternoon. That is why we decided to give out complimentary tickets to our passengers so that they can come back on another tour with us within two years. Hopefully next time there will be more wildlife around the bay then.
- Barbara Neubarth
Tour at 10:00
Report from Elding: The sea conditions were pretty rough when we headed out but it was quite warm though which was nice. We had been sailing for while when we got a call from another whale watching boat telling us they were watching a minke whale. When we got there it had gone for a deeper dive and unfortunately we didn't see it resurface. The search continued until it was time to head back to the harbour but unfortunately we were unsuccessful in our search for cetaceans. This is unpredictable wildlife so there are no guarantees but of course we are always disappointed when we don't see something. Therefore we offered all of our passengers complimentary tickets which are valid for two years so they can come on another whale watching tour with us and hopefully we will have better luck next time!
- Bryndís Ösp
Tour at 09:00
Report from Eldey: This morning started of very promising under a sunny blue sky, but with quite some wind. After only 20 minutes of sailing we saw a minke whale surfacing multiple times. However it was a rather elusive individual so that we decided to head further out. Soon we encountered a pod of 8-10 white-beaked dolphins. They came really close to the boat so that every passenger could see their beautiful coloration and their social behaviours, we saw even a few jumping in the distance. After a while we continued our sail around the bay but could not find more marine mammals. Still the exciting northern gannet diving behaviours made the rest of the trip very worthwhile. Then it was time for us to head back to the old harbour of Reykjavik.
- Barbara Neubarth
Bird species seen on today's tour include: common guillemot, northern gannet, atlantic puffin, arctic tern, northern fulmar, arctic skua, lesser black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake, razorbill
Status 9am, 10am, 1pm, 2pm and 5pm: RUNNING
We are sail ing out on a semi clouded day from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik. There is little to no wind but there can always be some movement on the boat out on Faxabay
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