Friday, 31 December 2021

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

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00

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 mandatory in areas where keeping 1 meter distance from others is not possible. 

Report from Eldey:  What an exciting day we had on this New Years Eve. We sailed first to the south to get more shelter lens a little with the easterly winds. We thoroughly enjoyed the birdlife around the harbour, great cormorants on the seawall, eider ducks resting on the floating docks and red-breasted mergansers and seagulls resting on the water surfaces. As we sailed further offshore we also found many flocks of feeding seabirds; guillemots, northern gannets, seagulls feeding on the abundance of food. This was great because it also meant that cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) should be around also to to feed on the bounty full prey.  Soon we got a call from our other whale watching vessel to let us know that they saw 2 humpback whales, so off we went. 30mins later we arrived and enjoyed the whale surfacing many times, sometimes close and sometimes further away. After a super nice time with them (one in particular we concentrated on) we wished them goodbye and Happy New Year and sailed home with some fun music. We heard about a few white-beaked dolphins we were hoping to see on the way home but unfortunately they disappeared when we arrived. What a wonderful last whale watching tour of the year. Hope they stick around for 2022. Happy New Year Eve Everyone.

- Megan Whittaker

Report from Elding: What a special way to end the year! We left the harbour with east winds and we ventured to cross the north of the bay admiring the views of snowy moutain Esja, the whale fjord and the Snæfellsnes peninsula living up to its name, covered with snow too. The sea was choppy due to the wind but fortunately there was hardly any swell. Our first sighting was bound to happen, a great blow in the distance. As we approached we could find out that it was a humpback whale! It seemed like it was resting at first and then later it was moving with movements somewhat erratic. Suddenly, we saw a huge splash in the distance, and as we thought shortly after, another humpback whale appeared on the scene. The first began to swim towards this second whale and suddenly we could see it making a huge breach leaving all its body out of the water. Both our passengers and the crew were speechless. Shortly after we could see them together for a time, and shortly after they went away perhaps looking for food, as we quickly asserted that the second one was feeding, appearing on the scene with sudden movements and birds in its vicinity. The first individual we saw was one that we had already seen this summer on September 19 and 25! After enjoying their presence we continued our tour. On our way we were surprised by a pod of around 7 to 8 white-beaked dolphins. There were several juveniles that came up to human-watch, they swam under the ship from port to starboard repeatedly, enjoying and surfing with the waves that our boat was creating. An exciting end of the year, it is grateful and an honor to be able to end the year admiring the beautiful landscapes of Iceland, watching such magnificent living beings and with a big smile in our faces.

- Estel Sanchez Cami