Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 19:00 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 | 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:00

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: Sea conditions were prestine and the sea was almost like a swimminpool with no swell and no wind. Also, the sun was shining on the water and the landscape around us, which made for a really scenic tour. After only about 20 minutes we spotted our first minke whale. It was on our left in the direction of the Snaeflessjökull. As we got closer, we realized that it was just our first out of about 20 minke whales. We did not even know where to look as they were all around us. After enjoying their presence we decided to continue on and find more animals in the bay. As we spotted another minke and wanted to get closer, we suddenly were surprised by a pod of 5-10 white-beaked dolphins on our right. This pod was really active and some individuals were jumping out of the water and bow riding. After that we also spotted some more minke whales and a small pod of jumping harbour porpoises that came up briefly to greet us. What a beautiful tour!

- Cindy Schwenk

Report from Hafsúlan: tremendous day in the bay, today. Warm sun, no wind, no waves; the kind of weather that even people in the tropical atolls could envy. My job was fairly easy, as I could see any minke whale that was surfacing to catch a breath. We soon reached an area where minke whales were all concentrated, probably snacking on some delicious krill or sandeels. The water was so still you could see the white patch on their pectoral fin when they were swimming close enough. A pod of white beaked dolphins soon joined the party; this was constituted by 4 adults and 2 juveniles. Three of the adults got particularly interested and curious towards  us, and they passed right underneath our ship several times, making small leaps and some jumps. While we were busy with the dolphins we also saw some harbor porpoises (about 5), which probably were also attracted by the food. On the way back we saw some more minkes, and we totalled about 15 minke sightings!

-Francesco Golin

Report from Hafsúlan: The day continued to be tremendous, with no waves and no wind bothering us. The sun was extremely warm, which allowed everyone on the ship to stay outside to admire the panorama and the whales, of which there were plenty: we reached a spot in which we could observe many minke whales (around 15-20 in the area), 3 pods of harbor porpoises (~5 individuals each) and a wonderful humpback whale. All these cetaceans appeared to be feeding in the area, together with several northern gannets, puffins and common guillemots. At first we were seeing only the minkes and the porpoises, while the humpback was playing hide and seek with us; however it soon started to surface really close to us, appearing unexpectedly right underneath our ship at some point! We were then able to witness this animal creating trails of bubbles underwater, something we don't get to see often as the sea is not always this flat. We were also able to witness the minkes lunge feeding, with one that gretly expanded its mouth right over the water surface, the belly and throat completely visible all white and pink under the effort. We were then able to stay in the area a long time, with the engines barely running. Once our time was up, we headed to Reykjavík, and we saw a small pod (5 individuals) of white beaked dolphins on our way.

- Miquel Pons 

Report from Eldey: Sea conditions were amazing, sunshine, no swell and barely any wind. It did not take us too much time to find our first cetacean; a minke whale! This individual was quite elusive but luckily it was not on its own and we got some glimpses of different minkes all around us. It must have been about 15 different ones. After admiring these cute creatures for some time, we spotted a blow in the distance! This means a humpback whale! We saw it fluke up (showed us its tail) some times from further away, before we headed home under beautiful sunshine and mirror like seas.

- Estel the whale lady

Report from Hafsúlan: Midnight tours tend to be magic, but tonight it was outstanding! The tour started surrounded by mystery as the weather this evening seemed to be a little bit grayish and cloudy. Nonetheless, we went into the unknown and at certain moments we were encircled by a leaden sky, making us feeling alone in the big sea. Even so, some of the most extraordinaire seabirds offered us few good sightings, especially puffins which are still around. Our passengers decided to wear the warm overalls and maybe they brought luck with them as soon we found a humpback whale. It was more offshore than in the afternoon tour and we could clearly lunge feeding on the surface making vertical ambushes. Later on the whale was very relaxed, just swimming quite close and eventually it showed us its tail but it was enough to identify this humpback as Squared2. It was great to observe this animal surfacing so calmly so we could get outstanding pictures of the blow, fluke and dorsal fin as we followed its shadow under water. Apart from our beloved humpback, about 3 minke whales were surrounding our boat in the same area.

- Francesco Golin

Northern fulmer, northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, Manx shearwater, sooty shearwater, black guillemot, Arctic tern, herring gull, black legged kittiwake, lesser and greater black backed gull, Arctic skua, common eiders, European cormorant.

Report from Eldey: We set our sails under very calm seas and a beautiful setting sun. Considering the massive storm just hours before the sea was incredibly calm and peaceful and we were only accompanied by a very light breeze up on deck. We sailed slowly across the bay looking out for signs of cetaceans. Then finally a huge pod of about more than 15 white beaked dolphins that were jumping and bow riding to everyone's joy! Right after that we spotted our next species, the minke whale. This individual did not appear on its own but a lot of minke whales (about 5-10) were roaming around the same area and we even saw some of them lunge feed in the sunset. After watching our sunset minkes for such a long time it was time to head back home to enjoy our nice and cozy beds after this fabulous midnight tour but this was not supposed to be the end. On our way back our resourceful passengers and engineer spotted multiple blows too big for a minke. After investigating this we realized we had stumbled upon a humpback whale! It went for a couple of fluke dives close to the boat and everyone was in awe of this incredible encounter. What a night!

- Milla Brandao