Saturday, 11 September 2021

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00 and 14:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00 and 13:00 Classic Whale Watching tours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land.

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 14:00

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.

Report from Eldey: This could be one of the last sunny days before the summer ends and we fore sure used it well. We sailed out in calm seas and only 15 minutes out of the harbour we watched a humpback whale that was flip slapping, shortly after we discovered that there was not only one, that there were two humpback whales! They were amazingly curious and came right to our boat, giving us a great sighting. We could see how they were swimming on the side with their eyes on us. After enjoying their presence we decided to do more searching and found a group of white-beaked dolphins that were pretty elusive, probably because they had calves. We continued our search and soon after  a minke whale showed up and a little forward another humpback whale showed up with at least 6 white-beaked dolphins swimming around, some of them came close a few times, and leaping out of the water. On our way back home here and there more humpback whales popped up, at least 3 different ones! We had some catalonian passengers, we had an amazing national day of Catalonia, felic diada a tothom!

- Estel Sanchez Cami

Report from RIB : Today the weather got nice ! Good visibility, not much wind and the sky was getting nice and blue during the day. The sea was quite calm so it was smooth and fast to move into the bay with the rib boat. We first made a big circle out in the bay going quite far to explore but we could not find anything. We went back and crossed a few pods of a total of 15-20 white-beaked dolphins that were quite excited, swimming by a big boat. They quickly became interested in our boat and came around, under the boat and circling us. There was even one of those funny rascals splashing the passenger 3 times in a row with its tail ! Following the dolphins we arrived to a humpback whale ! We stayed with it a bit but it was hard to follow. We kept going further and found a pair of humpback whales that was very relaxed, swimming at a speed of 2 knots, staying close to the surface. We followed them for a while at a respectful distance and came back to Reykjavik.

- Miquel Pons

Report from Eldey: What a day. The calm conditions lasted through the entire day, with flat seas, very light wind and clear skies providing an enjoyable sailing experience. The wildlife however, made this an unforgettable tour for the guests onboard. The tour began by sailing to the areas whales were seen during the days earlier trip and in this area we were able to watch three separate cetacean species within a very small area. First, the calm surfacing behaviour of the minke whale was seen, predictably moving along the side of the boat at a 50-100 metre distance and whilst we admired the minke, a humpback whale appeared on the opposite side. This whale was very easy to watch, lifting its fluke tall as it dove for around 6-8 minutes at a time. Soon after, 5-7 white-beaked dolphins approached the boat for a close inspection then decided to harass the lone humpback as it rose for a breath. The dolphins moved very quickly around the whale, causing some distress which was evident from the noise it produced. We left these individuals behind to check other areas and found a group of three humpbacks. These whales became very interested in our presence and swam around the boat many times, clearly observing the vessel. The whales rolled onto their sides exposing the eye above the surface as if they were watching the activity on board. We had a very special encounter with this trio which lasted for around 30 minutes.

- Mike Smith

Report from RIB : It was sunny on the bay this afternoon and we could even see Snæfellsjökul, which mean we had a great visibility. The sea was calm and perfect for a rib boat tour. We made a bit the same than this morning, trying to explore a bit far out on the bay, but the animals were apparently quite close today. We came back to see a humpback whale interacting with white-beaked dolphins. The whale was surfacing in a quite agressive way, turning on the side, making 90 degree turns, rolling and diving in a very strange way on the side. The dolphins were jumping around and coming at our boat as well. At two times the humpback came very close of the boat. We observe this behaviour for a while and finished by letting them alone. We found 2 other humpback whales, a pair that was swimming together very relaxed like this morning. We start heading back when a minke whale interrupted our course. We stopped and the minke seemed to like us, surfacing a few times around the boat. What a nice tour !

- Miquel Pons