Saturday, 1 April 2023

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hofnin31

Saturday, 1 April 2023

Today we are scheduled to be operating on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 9:00 and 13:00 Whale Watching tour. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land. 

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

CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:OO

Report from Eldey and Elding: This morning we sailed out onto a moody sea, there was little chop and a little rain but we were eager to see what the ocean had in store for us. Eldey caught a quick glimpse of 2 white beaked dolphins that quickly vanished. This actually happened a few times with another pod of 4 dolphins appearing and disappearing. In the meantime in a different part of the bay, Elding sailed into an area where 40 - 50 white-beaked dolphins were spread out, some coming close to the boat, and some feeding a bit further away. Both boats then sailed a little while longer and then spotted 2 blows - we found the humpback whales from yesterdays tour! They came very close to the boat and we could see their beautiful white pectoral fins through the water and one of the whales even lifted the pectoral fin above the surface a couple of times. We stayed as long as we could and eventually turned to sail back to harbour. Just as we did, Eldey spotted another pod of 3-4 dolphins! This pod was much more friendly and we all got to have a proper look at them, as they were swimming along side us and bow riding a little. 

- Anna Richter and Eline van Aalderink

CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00

Report from Eldey: Despite the forecast saying the waves would get worse this afternoon it was wrong with it feeling a bit calmer. About 30 minutes into our tour we spotted lots of splashes in the direction of Akranes. We found a big pod of white beaked dolphins. There was probably 30-40 individuals all leaping out the water creating big splashes. Some even came very close and were bow riding. The water was fairly clear meaning we could see their bodies through the water. We then decided to head in the direction of the humpback whales we saw this morning. After sailing for a while we saw a big blow in front of us. We found the humpback whales again. There were 2 of them; they again appeared to be resting. We got to see their magnificent bodies lots of times. They both fluke dived a few times as well showing us their full body. This was really cool to see. Especially after travelling through rain and hail to get to them. We then ended the tour travelling back to Reykjavik with the wind behind us making it very pleasant.

- Rob Hyman

Bird species encountered today include:

Northern fulmar, black guillemot, black-backed gull, northern gannet, common guillemot, herring gull, common gull, eider duck, black-legged kittiwake, black-headed gull