Sunday, 15 May 2022

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00

Report from Eldey: What a day for whale watching! A few minutes after we left the harbour we saw a blow close to Grótta, followed by a black back of a humpback whale, and also a leaping white-beaked dolphin! The sighting was spectacular with the 8-10 white-beaked dolphins jumping high in the air and associating with the humpback whale. The humpback whale in turn responded by blowing bubbles, lifting the pectoral fin and rolling. After some unforgettable moments with these cetaceans, we went a bit further out where we found 3 separate pods of 3 harbour porpoises and a pod of 8 white-beaked dolphins that were very curious about our boat. In the same area, many puffins and other beautiful seabirds were flying around as well. We then went on to explore an area close to mount Esja with even more seabirds to see if the fish that attracted the birds had also caught the attention of some larger animals, and indeed we found a different humpback whale individual! This whale was taking approximately 4 minute dives and often coming up right underneath flocks of birds, one time even lifting his head high above the water as it was feeding. When he showed us the fluke we said goodbye and headed back to Reykjavík, on the way catching a glimpse of a minke whale feeding underneath some more birds to complete the tour. 

- Eline van Aalderink

Report from the RIBs: The sky was grey this morning and we sailed into some light rain but this didn´t dampen our spirits. Very soon after leaving the harbour we spotted a pod of 4 white-beaked dolphins. They were feeding so weren´t too interested in us or our boats but we were able to watch them for a while. Then we spotted a blow in the distance and saw our second species, a humpback whale! This humpback was feeding as well and following groups of birds where the most fish were collected. A couple of times, the humpback showed us a feeding behaviour we don´t always see - lunge feeding! The whale´s head came up out of the water as it lunged out to eat the fish. We watched this whale for a while and it showed us its fluke many times. Just as we decided to continue the tour to find something else, we spotted a harbour porpoise very close to our boat. We only saw it for a couple of surfaces but it was so nice to see it so close! We then headed to another area where other humpback whales had been seen and on the way we encountered another pod of white-beaked dolphins. This pod was a lot more spread out and consisted of about 10 individuals. Some of the dolphins came up to our boat and were very curious, with some starting to bow ride our boat! We stayed for a little while before heading towards a blow we´d seen and spent the last of our time with a second humpback before heading back towards the puffin islands before coming into the harbour.

- Emily Erskine

Report from Eldey: We sailed to the area we encountered the humpbacks whales this morning, hoping to find them again, and yes! Not only 1, but 2 individuals were close in the same zone. We followed one individual that was swimming erratically probably looking for food. It was spectacular to see it tail breaching twice. This individual was quite easy to follow, but as it was having lunch it seemt not so interested in us, so we continued our tour and we left behind the other humpback as it was already far away. We scanned the area, zigzagging our journey and suddenly we could see the spout of another humpback whale! It was probably the best sighting of the day specially when it appeared next to our boat, and kept resurfacing right next to us. It was easy for everybody to enjoy the presence this animal and we could really hear the breath, as it was so close! Two pods of harbour porpoises of about 3-4 individuals each could also been seen in our way back to the harbour. Humpback whales really entertained us on the majority of this tour!

- Estel Sanchez Cami

Report from the RIBs: This afternoon the wind had picked up more than expected so we were in for a bumpy tour! Everyone on board was happy to experience the Icelandic weather though and enjoyed the ride especially thanks to our suspension seats we have on board. We first headed to the area where we saw one of the humpbacks this morning and where other boats had seen one more recently. We searched the area for a while but the individual had obviously moved on because we saw no sign of it. We decided to brave the wind and headed further out into the bay and soon after we saw a humpback whale. This individual was surfacing regularly giving us a great view of the massive blow they make when they come up to the surface. It even gave us really nice views of its tail a few times. The humpback started to travel away from us and we didn´t want to chase after it so we continued with the tour. As we continued to search, the wind picked up even more so we headed to see some puffins to finish our tour.

- Emily Erskine

Northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, herring gull, Iceland gull, Atlantic puffin, black guillemot, common guillemot, black-headed gull, arctic tern, great black-backed gull, eider duck