Status: RUNNING
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today.The sun is shining and there is little wind at the Harbour but there could be some swells out on Faxa Bay
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: We left the harbour in very nice weather, there was hardly any wind and although it was a bit cold the overalls we have on board just came to good use. The sea conditions were excellent as well, the sea surface was so smooth it was like glass. We were therefore optimistic because we were sure that if any cetaceans were in the area we would definitely be able to spot them and, sure enough, a minke whale popped up. It surfaced a few times before pulling a Houdini like disappearing act so we kept on sailing and after a while found our second minke of the tour. This minke was very nice, it surfaced a lot and even came really close so we all got a good look at it before we had to head back to the harbour. On our way back we were enjoying a picture perfect sunset when we saw a third minke. This one looked quite bigger than the other two had been and when it went for a deep dive we kept on going. A nice tour with three minke whales and a beautiful sunset.
- Bryndís Ösp
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: It was easy sailed out in Faxafloi during the afternoon, and we had the sun with us during mostly of the tour. 30 minutes after we left the harbour we came across a minke whale which we just saw once even we were waiting for a while. We decided to keep going to see if we could spot something else much easier approachable and we did. A second minke whale was swimming parallel to us, it came up at the surface for several times before it went for a deep dive. Then we did not wait for a long time when the animal came up at the surface again giving us a second chance to see it clearly. We kept sailing out a bit further when we spotted 3 white beaked dolphins, one of them was definitely a juvenile with the mum. They were a bit elusive so we just stayed with them for 10 minutes before we started to come back to the harbour.
- Alejandro Garcia
Tour at 09:00
Report from Eldey: The sea conditions today were fairly good considering that there was still a cold breeze out in the Bay. After about 45 min we came across a pod of ca. 8 white-beaked dolphins. In the beginning, they seemed a bit shy and they often changed their direction but after two other whale-watching boats had left the area, they showed us how curious and interactive they can be: They headed towards the boat a few times and played around the bow and also traveled along our boat for a bit right next to us! We got to see several very playful calves and juveniles that often jumped out of the water or slapped their tails on the water surface. At first it looked like only 4-5 dolphins but a few more popped up in the end of the encounter and we could see some more in the distance as well. After leaving the dolphins, we looked for something more and crossed the path of a pod of 8-10 harbour porpoises that traveled by quickly. A minke whale was seen only once by the crew, I do not think any of the passengers got to see it. It was very elusive and therefore, we did not find it again. However, before returning to Reykjavik we came across another pod of 4-5 white-beaked dolphins!
- Hanna Michel
Bird species seen on todays tours include: northern gannet, northern fulmar, lesser black-backed gull, Iceland gull.
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