Monday, 24 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: We sailed out in a very calm sea and the beautiful icelandic sun put a smile on all our faces. We already enjoyed the way out and after about 30 minutes we saw a lot of actively feeding birds on the surface which can be used as a good bioindicator. We decided to check out the area where all the birds were and we were not disappointed at all. We encountered a total of at least 13 minke whales that all seemed to be feeding as they changed directions a lot. Some of them came even very close to our boat and we were not only able to see the beautiful animals but we also smelled their terrible breath. Also in that area we encountered1 pod of white beaked dolphins that were feeding as well. Because we were running out of time we started our way back to Reykjvik. On the way back we saw two more elusively travelling harbor porpoises. 

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Hafsúlan: We started the tour with a perfect calm sea, it was like a mirror, no wind and very warm. Not so far from the port we saw 2 harbour porpoises swimming close to the side of the boat. We decided to continue further away and we spotted the first 4 minke whales of the day and suddenly we were completely surrounded by thousands of seabirds and other minkes. We estimated to have about 20 individuals. We spent one hour just admiring these creatures swimming and feeding in the bay and we also spotted a curious one, a juvenile, long about 2.5 meters that came very close to the port side. It was very cute!!!! We also saw fee more harbour porpoises around and also on the way back. Time flied fast and we had to go back for the next tour. It's been a lovely time spending good quality hours at sea, immersed in this minke soup!!!

- Marta Filippini

Report from Eldey: It was really good weather conditions as we sailed out from Reykjavik harbour. The sea was perfectly still through out the tour. The wind picked up a bit as we made our way further in to the bay. All sorts of seabirds were traveling in our direction. We were sailing towards the same area where we saw a lot of activity on the previous tour. Further out the birds were flocking all around us and soon enough we spotted out first minke whale of the tour. The area was full of them. Too many to have an exact count but at least 16+ individuals. Very briefly a pod of white beaked dolphins appeared in the distance, but by then we were aiming towards a couple of blows that we saw in the distance. Not long after we got close enough to identify 2 humpback whales. We enjoyed their company for a while and after a beautiful fluke dive it was time to sail back to Reykjavik. A nice ending to a really nice tour. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson

Report from Hafsúlan: we sailed out on very calm seas this afternoon. It was almost like we were on a lake. The sea conditions were so good that any dorsal fin, any splash or dark back was easily spotted by everyone! Good, because we saw many individuals. Our first encounter was with a minke whale that was spotted from miles away. Actually, we had at least 4 of them swimming around the boat, and we could get very good looks at them. We spotted a blow in front and we continued, to check it out. A very calm humpback whale was there, as we could see when it stayed on its side, showing the long pectoral fin out of the water and part of the fluke. Then, it started going for deeper dives, spending nearly a minute underwater, in search for food. The fluke told us it was Aang, a humpback we have been seeing these last days. Aang also showed its big red belly, when rolled on the surface and amazed us all! 2 white-beaked dolphins were calmly swimming not far from it, just passing by. Starting our way back to Reykjavík, we spotted a pod of 8 dolphins in the distance, jumping quite high and splashing around, and other 4 minkes of different sizes on the other side. At the end, we also spotted a pod of 4 harbour porpoises swimming by, and with those we saw all the four main species we have during our summertime in the bay! The rest of the trip we saw many groups of Atlantic puffins on their way to their nesting spots and we also enjoyed the sun that came to say hello.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Eldey: The sun had disappeared and we had rather cloudy conditions but the sea was still amazingly calm. We sailed out to where we had encounters on previous tours. On the way there we saw two elusive harbor porpoises already. Further out  we were watching for flocks of birds as they function as a good bioindicator for fish underneath. We soon spotted an active flock of birds and saw around 4 minke whales within that area. When we finally reached the area where we wanted to go we spotted two big blows, caused by 2 humpback whales that seemed to be feeding together. There was also a very active pod of white beaked dolphins that seemed to be feeding as well. 

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Elding : It was very cloudy and slightly windy when we started our way to try to see some cetaceans. We decided to directly head toward the previous area where we had seen a lot of animals during the day, which is quite a long sail away. On the way toward this area we saw some white beaked dolphins ! A cute harbour porpoise also showed up at some point for a surface sequence. It was a pod of about 3 dolphins, that passed by very fast. Then we got to an area full of minke whales, 10 to 20 in the area going around very fast but we still could observe some black backs appearing on the horizon ! We then finally got to the area where we had seen some other cetaceans and there it was : a humpback whale. The whale was one we know as Davy Jones the II, quite recognizable by its particular dorsal hump and its tail. We saw it for some time, even very very close passing underneath the boat, and got great views on its very long white pectoral fins and body. After some time it was time to head back toward the harbour, observing a few more minke whales passing by on the way and also the lava from the volcano on the horizon. Once again, a very nice midnight tour.

- Mélanie

Atlantic Puffin, Northern Gannet, Northern Fulmar, Common Guillemot, Black-backed Gulls, Kittiwake, Arctic Tern, Northern Gannet, Herring Gull, Black headed Gull, Eider Duck, Arctic Skua