Sunday, 23 July 2023

  Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey, Hafsúla and Elding  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:30 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
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 20:30

Report from Eldey: Sailing out of the harbour this early morning, we hoped that the upcoming sun and the perfectly still sea would find its whale pairing during the tour. We knew of the chance of finding bigger individuals far out in the distance, but on our way we came upon 3 minke whales, that gave us the chance of a close encounter even though we kept heading forward. When we finally got to a more active spot, with numerous birds around us, a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins responded to our searches. Nonetheless, these were just the beginning of the show: 2 humpback whales, surrounded by these dolphins, were lunge feeding repetitively, close to each other. This playful feeding, showing bellies and flukes, even pectoral flapping, was majorly led by truly ours one and only Davy Jones the 2nd. This humpback male has been seen each summer in the last few years, giving us repetitive entertainment just as today. Whilst this show went on in front of us, some other 3 minke whales roamed by in the near distance. This spectacular and diverse moment was enough for us to head back to the harbour fully content. 

- Kristin Birgisdóttir

Report from Hafsúlan: The weather was incredibly calm, very little wind and smooth seas, which made for a smooth sailing. A slightly overcast sky made it difficult to see the surrounding landscape but we did not come here for a good view, we came to spot some whales and that we did! Our first cetacean was a shy sighting of harbour porpoise that lasted exactly one second. We continued out and spotted some minke whales coming up to breath everywhere! In total we probably saw 8bor 10vindividual minkes but we did not even stop for these because we had a bigger goal in mind. On our way to where we wanted to go even two pods of white-beaked dolphins made an appearance and a couple of the dolphins even jumped in the distance. This was all very cool and fabulous but the real star of this tour was the humpback whale we had been heading for the whole time. There were two of them in an area feeding but we concentrated on one of them that was feeding close by to us and and coming up again and again with its tummy up and expanded throat pleats, rolling back showing of its pectoral fins. It was such a cool sight to see that we just turned the engines off and watched this whale for the entire tour until it was time to head home. Everyone was left awestruck and stunned by how cool this tour was. Made my last day!

- Cindy Schwenk

Report from Eldey: On this cozy afternoon, we sailed out of the bay with perfect sea conditions and a white blanket of clouds over us, a confortable setting for our journey. We knew that we had to go quite far out to reach our aimed goal, so we went straight out, passing by a minke whale on our way. With everyone excited and eager for more, we found our coveted prize: 2 humpback whales, fluke diving and lunge feeding repeteadly, for over 20 minutes. Ours truly Davy Jones II and it comrade was giving us another show to enjoy on this afternoon, joined with a pod of 4 white beaked dolphins and another 2 minke whales. As we felt like the are got too crowded, we headed closer to home, finding our luck on the way: a group of 6 minke whales, surrounded by a multitude of hovering birds, circled us to feed repetitively until we left, one of them even closely following us on our way back. To finish this incredible experience, a small pod of 3 dolphins finished the show for us.

- Alexandre Paumier

Report from Hafsúlan: We started the tour under amazing weather conditions. No wind and very good temperature. Very soon after we headed off the harbour we were able to see around 4 harbour porpoises spread around the bay. We decided to continue further away and it took us some sailing time before we found one of the three amazing humpback whales of the tour. They were all feeding along with at least 5 sneaky minke whales that were in the area. We could even see some lunge feeding as well!!

-Nicolás Corral

Report from Eldey: We headed out into the perfectly still sea in this cloud covered end of the day, trying to repeat the exploits of this morning. We first came upon 4 minke whales, who gave us the time and presence for us to see their agile movements when feeding and travelling. As we continued, we noticed some bigger splashes in the distance. Hoping it was a sign of interest, we followed suit. We came upon our dear friend Davy Jones II, a male humpback whale that we've seen often in the last years. Amazed by its lunge feeding and curiosity for us, we almost missed out on the gem of the night: as it breached majestically, meters away was another humpback whale, surrounded by 2 pods of 3 and 4 white-beaked dolphins. This particular whale entertained us for long moments, rotating completely its body on itself and very noisily breathing, in an unpredictable curious manner. We finally had to head back, leaving our amazing friends of the day, enjoying their continuous feeding in the distance. 

- Kristin Birgisdóttir

Report from Elding: The weather was perfect, calm seas and no wind at all. We sailed out in search of whales and boy we were not prepared for what we would find. First up were some shy and elusive harbour porpoises that escorted our way out into the bay then more and more minke whales started to pop up on the horizon. One after another, it must have been around 20-25 of them. Some were closer than others but we soon forgot the minkes as a big pod of over 10 white-beaked dolphins approached us. They were on every side of us and suddenly they started to bow ride with us, jumping high into the air, so that the passengers at the front almost saw eye to eye with the dolphins. It was amazing to see this! But this was not enough, we spotted a blow in the distance and made our way to a sleeping humpback whale! This one was just resting very calmly at the surface coming up for breaths every now and then, getting very close to the boat. This was all already amazing in its self but when we headed back from these incredible encounters we encountered a second humpback whale. This ones name was Davy Jones II and he wanted to give me a proper goodbye for my last day as a guide. As we approached him he seemed to take this as an invitation to check us out. He basically came as close to the boat as possible, stopped and just looked at us. Then he started spy hopping and blowing bubbles at us. We stayed what felt like the blink of an eye but must have probably been over half an hour with only this whale and as it was time to go he gave us one fabulous fluke dive at the very end. We decided to head home because it simply could not get better than this but the ocean was not finished with us yet. A second pod of dolphins started following us on the way back, jumping out on both sides and bow riding escorting us safely back. And even closer to the harbour some more harbour porpoises came up to spout their last goodbyes. I loved every second of it! Thank you Atlantic Ocean and Elding!

- Cindy the happiest guide on the planet

Northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, black legged kittiwake, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, razorbill, common guillemot, Northern fulmar, Arctic skua, great black backed gull, Arctic tern.