MONDAY, 18 JUNE 2018

Status: RUNNING

Tour 20.30

Report from Elding: Going out on the midnight sun tour, we enjoyed the beautiful sun and was getting excited to see the sunset. Unfortunately, during the tour, the clouds decided to hide the view of the sun setting. This however, did not stop us from spotting whales. We saw a total of 5 minke whales on the tour and also a pod of 2-3 harbor porpoises. The minke whales where quite tricky to follow and predict, but luckily we had many encounters scattered around the bay. On our way home we had live music, and it was a great way to end a night on the beautiful Faxafloi bay.

- Mia Rasmussen

Tour at 17:00

Report from Eldey: We didn't get as much sunshine for the evening tour as we had during the rest of the day, but we still had to face the same strong winds as before. Our first sighting was a harbour porpoise, but it was almost gone as quickly as we spottet it. After this brief encounter we came across a species we couldn't quite identify, as it only surfaced once and disappeared just as fast. Towards the end of the tour we were able to catch a few short glimpses of a humpback whale, which was joined for a short moment by a minke whale coming up in the same area. However, this humpback wasn't in a social mood this evening, always coming up to the surface twice, before going on a deeper dive. We were still able to see it a few times, before making our way back to the harbour.

- Diana Besel

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: It felt warm in the harbour but as soon as we got our on the bay we faced the strong northerly winds. The tour began with a pod of 3 harbour porpoises. These small toothed whales seemed to be everywhere in the bay today, we saw at least 4 pods with around 10 porpoises in total. however, it was challenging to get a good look at these quick and small cetaceans. On the way out we spotted a minke whale that we managed to get a good and close look at a few times. Next sighting was a humpback whale, it started a bit elusive but in the end it gave us a great show. While watching the humpback another minke whale popped up and we saw it surface high out of the water. The way back felt smooth er and warmer. 

- Sigurlaug Sigurðardóttir

Tour at 13:00

Report from Eldey: Still chilly but still sunny for our afternoon tour! Having had a successful morning tour, we stormed out eager to see some whales again! We were stopped in our track by a minke whale that allowed us few close looks before disappearing and then we quickly resumed to try to find bigger whales. We ended up spending some time with 2 different humpback whales! The first one was an individual that we know as Faydal, we saw its beautiful tail being raised in front of us several time, and the other one we called it Charlie, an old friend visiting every summer since 2015! it's even more pleasurable to witness magnificent animals when you can put a name on it.

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour 10.00

Report from Elding: We sailed out from Reykjavik in some wind, but most important off all, in great sunshine! After about 30 minutes of sailing a minke whale was spotted in the area. While we searched for the minke whale, a pod of 2-3 harbor porpoises came close to the boat. We decided to go further out in the bay, and that is where we found a humpback! For some time it was very elusive and hard to predict. But suddenly it started tail lobbing.It looked incredible! We enjoyed the spectacle for some time, until we had to head back to the harbor. I’m sure everybody on the tour, will remember this great humpback!

- Mia Rasmussen

Tour at 09:00

Report from Eldey: Finally some sun! We sailed out in a bit windy conditions, but that is hardly a surprise for the nort north north Atlantic. The colours of the sea were incredible and it made for a beautiful tour even with no animals. But! 4 nautical miles from the harbour we saw our good old friend Charlie. This humpback whale was gracing us with his presence, showing us the fluke tail and even came meters away from the boat, to the astonishment of all of us.  It was a really nice encounter  that our passengers will not forget any time soon. On our way back we briefly saw a few minke whales as well as harbour porpoises

- Lucas Heinrich

Bird species encountered on today's tours: northern fulmar, northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbil, common guillemot, black guillemot, arctic tern, arctic skua, lesser black-backed gull, kittiwake, manx shearwater.

We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today. There is some wind and swells out on Faxabay so if you are sensitive to motion sickness we do have seasickness tablets free of charge at the ticket office. On board there are heated indoor areas but we also have overalls to keep you warm out on deck. For more information please contact us via phone at +354 519 5000 or by e-mail at elding@elding.is.