✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 20:30
Report from Elding: We started the tour very cloudy and unsure what the weather might bring. It was a nice tour for the ones who wants to live an artic adventure. We searched long and wide, working together with another two boats, but were unsuccesful to find any cetaceans on this tour. We had the opportunity to see the great northern gannet and the atlantic puffin but we know our passenger wanted to find biggers animals so we offered a chance to come back on another tour for free.
Jose Manuel Marco
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 17:00
Report from Eldey: Another tour, with the wind in our backs for the whole ride into the bay and even though it was overcast, the clouds were holding the rain except for one or two raindrops during the tour. With still pretty warm temperatures it was a very pleasant late afternoon to go whale watching. Approaching the area where we had sightings earlæier today, we did find 2 minke whales. First the animals were swimming away from us pretty fast, with a lot of splashing when they were breaching the water surface. But soon the slowed down enough for us to get a closer look at them. And it was really beautiful to watch them. Both seemed pretty calm, with one popping up right in front of the boat and the second one surfacing multiple times in exactly the same spot before arching its back and going for a deeper dive. It was a pretty special encounter (with pretty being my word-of-the-day) having those animals close to us and being able to observe them before we had to head back to the harbour.
-Christna Winkler
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 14:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Clouds were still covering the sky but again mother nature was in a good mood and we stayed dry with not a single drop of rain. We had to show quite a bit of patience on this tour, as the first animal we were looking for, a minke whale that had been sighted by our other boat previously, just did not want to show itself. Circling around the area we were expecting it, everyones eyes were on the water, but as it was without success we carried on sailing in the bay. Just 10 minutes further north we encountered a large pod of white-beaked dolphins. There must have been 15 of them, if not more, and they were all around us. Many of them enjoyed jumping through the waves, others played with a patch of seaweed on the water surface while yet others came to bow-ride and just a few stayed a bit in the distance. It was spectacular how they were interacting with us and also one another. To top it all off, we had a very cute father and chick common guillemot next to us and the chicks loud chirping was just the funniest thing. Seeing dolphins is always such a fun experience!
- Kristín Viðja
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 13:00
Report from Eldey: Once again the tour stayed mostly dry with a little drizzle here and there but mostly it was nice to see the dark clouds looming in the distance not in the areas we were. In our main whale spotting area, 1 hour sailing from the harbour we got word of a minke whale. We were able to stay with it for a while but the way the minke whale was surfacing, always heading away from the boat so we could not see the profile of the whales properly. Still we followed the whale for a while and most if not all passengers could see. It was however the white-beaked dolphins, 6 of them and a baby that stole the lime light. Playing under and around the boat and giving the passengers a great show. The birlife was not as abundant as the morning tour but we still had a nice diversity of species. Ended up being a good tour thanks to the amazing dolphins.
- Megan Whittaker
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 10:00
Report from Hafsúlan: With clouds all around we were expecting rain at any moment but, luckily, we stayed dry the entire trip and the sea conditions were fairly smooth, only a few white-caps here and there. We first sailed to the entrance of the Hvalfjödur, where dolphins had been seen earlier, but had no luck in finding them. While searching for them though, we spotted 2 minke whales feeding underneath small flocks of birds. They kept on feeding even as we approached and moved sometimes fast, sometimes slow and very randomly, which is normal when they are chasing fish. After an hour with these minke whales, we left the area only to sight another minke whale, which came very close to us, and then, going back along the Hvalfjödur again, finally find the pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins we looked for earlier! They were with a calf, seemingly teaching it how to behave around boats, as they came to bow ride. Suddenly, after 10 minutes they went for a dive and dissapeared. Wonderful that they have this simple choice as soon as they do not want to interact anymore. Thus, we sailed on and back to the harbour.
- Sabrina Voswinkel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 09:00
Report from Eldey: Dark ominous clouds covered the skies this morning and threatened rain. However, we were very lucky and had a dry tour as we watching all the amazing wildlife the bay had to offer. After an hours sailing we could start to see flock of seabirds. and then minke whales started to pop up. Then another then another. At one point we had at least 3 individuals around the boat, even surfacing 10 meters from us occasionally. It was difficult to know for sure how many minkes were observed but I would saw we saw at least 6-7 minke whales throughout the tour. The birdlife was also spectacular today with gulliemots, seagulls, gannets, puffins,skua, shearwaters all around us. A nice sea adventure in Faxafloi Bay.
- Megan Whittaker
Birds seen on our tours today include: Northern gannets, northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes, lesser black-backed gulls, common guillemots, bridled guillemots, atlantic puffins, arctic terns, arctic skuas, eider ducks, manx shearwaters.
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today. The seas should be calm today, 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.
- Image
- Image
- Image
