THURSDAY, 11 JULY 2019

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  09:00

Report from Eldey: Super calm seas and no wind this morning made for a great backdrop for this tour. After sailing out for about 45 minutes, we saw the first fins coming up in the distance. They belonged to minke whales. We did find about 6 minke whales during this tour, coming very close to the boat and sometimes we had 3 individuals surfacing all around us. They were incredible, being easy to follow and surfacing predictably, making it easier to take a picture of those whales. There was also a variety of seabirds to be seen, atlantic puffins very close to the boat, also northern gannets and manx shearwaters, to name a few. 4-5 harbour porpoises also showed up a little bit further from the boat, so we did get to see some toothed whales and baleen whales during this trip, before happily returning to the harbour.

- Diana Besel

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  10:00

Report from Hafsulan: It felt like we were navigating over silver water, as the sea was flat under a cotton cover of clouds. This tour definitely rise up to all our passengers expectations! Along the ride we saw 3 minke whales, 2 pods of around 10 white beaked dolphins and a pod of 5 harbour porpoises. The minke whales were traveling, making it easier to keep track of them and the dolphins were foraging, jumping out of the water as they were swimming in high speed and in crossed directions, trying to entrap theirs pray. The sightings happened unceasingly and nonstop, with little time of search in between. Some of the latter disrupted their task to check us out, ending up bow riding. On our way back our passengers were all cracking a smile on their faces. Another great tour with Elding!

- Inês Cunha

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  13:00

Report from Eldey: The rain had come to water the thirsty plants but for us at sea it wasn't a plesant feeling. However we had some determined passengers and many stayed outside for most the tour. The whale watching area was filled with life this afternoon;7-8 minke whales, 8 white-beaked dolphins, 15-20 harbour porpoises and a really nice variety of seabirds.  The dolphins were in two pods, first very elusive an the second looked to be resting. The last pod included some known individuals; ventiquattro (seen frequently since 2007) and puzzle (seen frenquently since 2012). Rare birds to the locations were also seen, great skua, which tend to be mainly in the east this time of year, we usually see the arctice squas here and then a very tiny storm petrel. Very exciting, a big smile on everyones faces.

- Megan Whittaker

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  14:00

Report from Hafsulan: When leaving the harbour we did not see much of the sun, but with low wind and almost no waves, that didn't hinder our spirits. We sailed out into Faxafloi bay, heading towards the area where we had sightings on our previous tour. With other whale watching boats already there, it did not take us long to find our first of 3 minke whales. This beautiful animal kept surfacing three times before going for a deeper dive, foraging on the bottom of the bay, and travelled in a straight line, which made it very easy to follow and observe for our passengers. After about three sequences we decided to head further and it did not take us long to find our next minke whale. This time it was a little trickier because the animal only kept surfacing twice before going for a deeper dive, as did the third animal we encountered on our tour. But once one of the animals came up super close to the boat which made us all AWWW. We also encountered 2 harbour porpoises on our tour, once a little far in the distance and the second one popping up right infront of the boat on our return to the harbour. It was wildlife poor with all its wonders and surprises. Another very special tour comes to an end with many happy faces leaving our boat.

-Christina Winkler

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  17:00

Report from Elding: The weather was still similar this evening than it was during the previous tours, calm seas and barely any wind. The bay looked really calm at first sight, but on a second glance there were still a lot of seabirds around. When we took a closer look at one of the flocks, 2 minke whales surfaced very close to one another. We could see these individuals surface for quite a while, before one of them was heading off. However, the other one came close to the boat and was very relaxed in our presence. It was a relly nice encounter to start the tour with. After heading out a little bit further, 3 more minke whales surfaced in the distance. We had a close look at these individuals as well, as they surfaced predictably and rather close to the boat. There were also a lot of atlantic puffins sitting on the water surface all around us, some of them with a fish in the beak, which was another perfect photo motiv for our passengers. Everyone had a great time out at sea and we all enjoyed our smooth sail back to the harbour.

- Diana Besel

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE|  20:30

Report from Elding: Although with the cloud cover tonight we did not see much of the sun slowly approaching the horizon as it sets, we still had a beautifully calm evening sea.  It was only after 50 minutes that we encountered our first pod of at least 6 white-beaked dolphins that were certainly not tired yet!! They showed us such a variety of behaviours - bowriding wave surfing, jumping and even an inverted leap. So much fun to watch them, yet we left them after spotting another species, the minke whale. It was a really relaxed individual that came within very few meters of our boat. We watched this minke whale feeding for at least 20 minutes, with the dolphins still behind us and also some harbour porpoises showing themselves very well for a short time as they were passing by. As the whale began to move further away we also moved on, meeting another pod of white-beaked dolphins that obviously tried to show off more than the previous pod with their jumps. Not only did we spot a second pod of dolphins, but also a second minke whale. What a richness in wildlife in the bay tonight.

- Christina Winkler

Bird species identified today: atlantic puffins, razorbill, northern fulmar, blue fulmar, common guillemot, northern gannet, manx shearwater, lesser black-backed sea gulls, european storm petrel, great skua, black-legged kittiwakes, eider ducks.

We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today. It is a beautiful day and the seas should be calm, but If you are prone to getting sea sick, we do have sea sickness tablets available free of charge at the office and on board. Make sure to dress warmly and make use of our warm overalls as it is always colder on sea than on land. For more information contact us by email elding@elding.is or by phone +354 519 5000.