Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Tour at 20:30

Report from Elding: When we sailed out Reykjavik's harbour, the sea was perfectly calm and even though it was raining in the beginning, the midnight sun that blinked through at the horizon as well as an increasing number of Atlantic Puffins at Akurey the puffin island gave us lots of hope for this midnight tour. We were not disappointed, just after leaving Akurey, we met a group of 3 White-beaked Dolphins very close to the harbour. They seemed to feed within a big flock of jellyfish (Aurelia Aquatica), but as we came closer, they interrupted their business to greet us coming very close to the boat - what a magic moment! We enjoyed the dolphins for quite a while before we headed out a bit further. It was then another group of 3 to 5 White-beaked Dolphins that caught our attention, but we were very happy when the dolphins led us to a true Minke Whale hotspot. We saw between 3 and 5 individuals surfacing here and there and even had the pleasure to enjoy the the stinky breath of the stinky minke! It was then another couple of White-beaked Dolphins waving goodbye to us in the end of the tour, jumping and breaching to make sure we would never forget them.

- Hendrik Schultz

Tour at 17:00Report from Hafsúlan: The sea was calm although the wind had picked up a little bit, but it was only a breeze. We had only sailed for around 20 minutes when we saw splashes far in front of us. We had the perfect visibility so we could see them very well and headed straight towards them. When we got closer the splashes stopped but we still found the animals, it was a pod of White-beaked Dolphins , maybe around 6-7 animals that surfaced around us and we got a nice beginning of the tour with them. But the dolphins seemed to be a little bit distracted by our presence there so we decided to head further out. We sailed for a while with out any sightings until we saw a Minke Whale surface far away from us. We tried to get closer but the animal had swam away, but we didn't have to wait long until we saw the next one .. and then the next one and so on! There were at least 7-8 animals in the area, which seemed to be hunting and we got a beautiful view at them . Although they were very busy feeding they didn't seem to mind us watching them so we stayed there for a while and enjoyed the sightings and the weather. even three times we could smell the Minke's before we saw them, no wonder they are called the stinky Minkie because their breath smells like a combination of rotten fish and eggs! But we enjoyed the smell, it's always a nice memory and a perfect clue that we have whales in the area.On our way back to the harbour the pod of White-beaked dolphins showed up again and ended the tour perfectly before we headed to Akurey, one of the Puffin Islands. What a great day with the surprising wild life in Faxaflói bay and the strong smell of the Minke's ! - Freydís Ósk Hjörvarsdóttir Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: In the afternoon, the weather had even become better and we were facing perfectly calm seas and outstanding visibility. We tried our luck at Akurey again to see the puffins and even though there were not many of them, we were able to see more of them than in the morning - are  the puffins coming back from their sea vacation? While thinking about the puffins, our captain Stefan spotted some black dorsal fins in the far. We headed towards where he spotted it and soon we were welcomed by a group of 5 White-beaked Dolphins. They were quite curious and came super close to the boat - a breathtaking experience seeing their bodies shining through the water surface. We were even able to recognize one of them. It was "Funny" an old friend of Elding with a significant scar on the bottom of its dorsal fin. We enjoyed the time with the dolphins and then headed further out to find something else. It took us just a few minutes until we spotted the first Minke Whale. From then on, they seemed to pop up around us like mushrooms in a forest ...okay, maybe a bit exagerated, but there were probably 10 to 20 individuals in total, some surfacing right in front of the boat so we could see them very well and enjoy the sound of the minke's blow. The cherry on the cake this time was a re-union with the group of White-beaked Dolphins led by our friend "Funny". Once more, they came close to our boat and waived hello to the passengers in the front of the boat - a wonderful finish for an amazing tour!

- Hendrik Schultz

Tour at 13:00Report from Hafsúlan: The weather had gotten better and we went straight to Akurey,one of the Puffin Islands and took a look at their home. As we headed out the ocean was smooth as a mirror and it was only 20 minutes until we saw 2 pods of White-beaked dolphins (10-15 animals) they jumped around the boat, swam under it and surfaced extremely close to us and we got a wonderful look at them. we could even see two females with their youngs ( baby dolphins) that were very curios. After a good time with the dolphins we decided to head further out and try our luck on finding something else, and we weren't dissappointed! The bay was crowded with Minke Whales. maybe around 15-20 animals that were feeding, surfacing all around us, some with theyr head first. We even saw a Minke Whale called Humpie that is missing a piece in it's dorsal fin which we have been seeing for the last 2 days and also for the last 2 summers ! (2011,2012 and now 2013). On our way back to the harbour we could watch Minke's surfacing around us and a lot of bird life! What a wonderful tour full of wild life and great weather!- Freydís Ósk Hjörvarsdóttir

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: When we headed out this morning, the weather was quite rainy and also a bit windy. As yesterday, we spotted only very few Atlantic Puffins when stopping Akurey, the puffin island, but we enjoyed the few representatives and were looking forward to meeting more of them on sea. As soon as we left Akurey, the weather started to become better, the sea calmed down a lot and we were even able to enjoy some sunshine. We were very happy to spot a Minke Whale after just 20 minutes of sailing. It seemed to be busy fweeding and surfaced quite frequently in the close surrounding of the boat. When we headed further, we spotted another Minke surfacing very close to our boat. A big surprise was a small group of three White-beaked Dolphins joining the Minke. They only showed themselves shortly, but we were very happy about their surprising visit. A very nice morning tour with nice minkes and even nicer passengers!

- Hendrik Schultz

Tour at 9:00Report from Hafsúlan: The sky was gray and it rained on us for the first hour while we were searching with out any sightings, we saw one dorsal fin but the animal swam away. Soon it stopped raining and the sky got a little bit brighter and then we saw our first Minke Whale! it surfaced a couple of times and as we were watching it we noticed more animals around us although they only surfaced for a couple of times and then they were gone. We kept on searching and found a pod of White-beaked Dolphins that came very close to the boat, and we got a great look at them, there were maybe 5-7 animals in the group. while we were enjoying the company of the dolphins we noticed more and more Minke Whales around us, probably around 10 animals in the area and we could watch them for the rest of our time in this tour. After that we headed to Akurey, one of the Puffin Islands and finished the tour there.It's funny how tables can turn when you are watching wild life, the unpredictable weather was surely in our favoure today and the animals to! - Freydís Ósk Hjörvarsdóttir

Birds seen on today's tours included: Fulmars, Arctic Terns, Atlantic Puffins, Black-backed Gulls, Manx Shearwaters, Eider Ducks, Common Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Cormorants & Great Skuas