Saturday, 17 July 2021

Saturday, 17 July 2021

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00 

Report from Elding: Finally a day with nice weather. The clouds parted and we could see blue skies. There was some swell still out in the bay but mostly It was a nice relaxing tour. We also had a very abundant and diverse wildlife in the bay also. The birdlife was incredible, arctic terns skimming the surface, northern gannets plunge diving, puffins with sandeels in their beak and fulmars gliding past was just amazing but we were also very lucky with the larger marine life too. We saw a humpback whale that was very chill with our presence and surfaced many times close by and with every deep dive bring up its beautiful fluke. Then we found an area with about 3-4 minke whales that seemed to be feeding, much more difficult to photograph and then a pod of 4 white-beaked dolphins to finish the tour nicely. On the way home passengers moved into the warmer saloon and enjoyed some refreshments that could be purchased at the onboard cafeteria.

- Megan Whittaker

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00

Report from Þruma RIB: The weather was very good this morning and the sea was quite calm. We began the trip with a stop at Lundey to look at the puffins from close. After having enjoyed their company we headed out in to the bay for some whale watching.We quickly got close to a humpback whale, and decided to stay with it for quite a while as it was very calm, feeding around us. As the boats gathered around it with time, we thought we should give it some privacy and went into another direction. A little norther in the bay we stumpled upon a pod of 4 white-beaked dolphins, who playfully jumped around the boat. We also briefly spotted a minke whale, but were unable to follow as time had come for us to go home.

- Fróði Guðmundur Jónsson

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00 

Report from Elding: This afternoon proved to be even better than the morning. The weather a little colder and unfortunately the clouds came over and created an overcast sky but the wildlife was impressive. We first travelled south and found the humpback whale from the morning tour and again it was surfacing a lot and showing its beautiful tail but boats were starting to crowd the whale so we left. The guide saw one minke whale once and we even smelt one too, we searched for a little while for them but it wasn´t until about 1 hour later we found a pair of humpback whales and a minke whale in the same area. The pair of humpbacks included an individual we’ve seen a lot the last weeks we named Davy Jones but we hadn´t seen the one it was with before this season. So interesting. The minke whale in the area was also very chilled and we were able to get a few pictures of that too. We were a little late back to harbour due to all the commotion. The birdlife was again also very diverse and abundant showing a very productive bay. 

- Megan Whittaker

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 14:00 

Report from Þruma RIB: The weather was great as we left the harbour, surprisingly it was even hotter out at sea than in the city  usually it is the other way around. However, the clouds had thickened up a little, but the sea was even calmer. With a stop at Akurey to observe the ever-amazing atlantic puffins, we headed to the south-west region of Faxaflói bay, were humpbacks had been spotted in the morning. We would not be disappointed, we found 3, yes 3, humpback whales all feeding in the same area, and really close to each other. This was amazing to watch, as their syncronised flukes went up into the air and back into the depths of the ocean. We just floated around the area, and were greeted by 2-3 pods of 4-6 white-beaked dolphins, who came up to the boat to observe us closer. A passenger smelled a minke whale, and soon enough, one surfaced to the right side of the boat. We saw it  come up to breath a few times before we needed to leave for Reykjavík.

- Fróði Guðmundur Jónsson

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 17:00 

Report from Elding: The evening tour became very chilly, the warm overalls and hot drinks were very much appreciated on this tour. We travelled straight out to where the pair of humpback whales were spotted on the last tour and after about 50mins of sailing we had arrived, we saw the blows of two individuals and then a large pod of about 10-12 white-beaked dolphins got our attention. It was like the humpback whales asked them to distract us because once we left the dolphins we could no longer find the humpbacks, they disappeared. We searched for a long time mainly to the north in a huge area. We saw and smelt a few minke whales also but only the guide saw one once, but we smelt the strong breath of them on a couple of occasions. White-beaked dolphins were everywhere, we must have seen at least 50 individuals on this tour in 4-5 different pods both scattered and in more concentrated groups also. After a while we decided to travel south to another humpback whale we saw on the previous tour and on the way we found an area with 3 humpback whales, davy jones (a whale we have seen a lot this summer) being one of them. They started feeding, we even saw a surface lunge feed of one of the individuals. All in all we saw at least 4 different humpback whales in all of todays tours and the bay was just full of life. So many birds showing a very productive sea.

- Megan Whittaker

Bird Species ID´d today: Northern Gannet, Atlantic Puffin, Common Guillemot, Arctic tern, Arctic skua, Northern Fulmar, Kittiwake, Eider Duck, great-black backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull.

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00 Premium tour and our lovely vessel Elding for the 09:00 and 13:00 Classic tour. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land. Join us by booking online or contact us directly for more information (elding@elding.is / +354 519 5000).

COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised. Masks are not mandatory but are recommended in areas where keeping distance from others is not possible.