Tuesday, 8 August 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla  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.  

• ALL TOURS ON SCHEDULE
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00, 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 20:00

Report from Eldey: We sailed out this morning into a fairly warm bay, not a single overall was used! It was slightly grey but at the same time sunny so we were all excited to see what we would find today. Not long after leaving the harbour we saw 3 harbour porpoises that quickly vanished, but then a few minutes later we saw 2 more. These were coming up quite frequently which is rare for them and got us into high spirits for the tour. In the same location we also saw a minke whale come up  few times. As we were not that far out yet we decided to head further and see what else was about. As we did we got to an area with lots of birds, and even pufflings (baby puffins) and even a grey seal! We saw 2 white beaked dolphins, that were extremely curious and came very close to the boat showing everyone their gorgeous pattern. They stayed with us for a bit and eventually continued with their journey so as did we. We saw 3 more minke whales as we travelled and one more pod of 7 white beaked dolphins, with some of the dolphins jumping out from time to time! When are time was up we headed back to Reykjavik and saw 2 more porpoises on the way back. 

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsúlan: We started today with good weather conditions. As we sailed out we found a small pod of white beaked dolphins that were acting a bit elusive. They were asleep but we still saw around 5 of them. Later on, we noticed of the presence of minke whales. We got closer and it took us long time to see them properly. We saw 2 individuals. On our way back we could see more white beaked dolphins that came in hurry to say hi to us! But as they arrived they left. We came back to the harbor with a lot of happy faces!

-Nicolás Corral

Report from Eldey: The sun picked up a lot in the afternoon as we set sail once again. Again it didn't take long for us to spot some cetaceans. After 30min of sailing we found a pod of 6 white beaked dolphins. Their behaviour changed quite a lot from resting, to feeding, to jumping, to bow riding - it was a great demonstration of their acrobatic abilities! As we were with them for a bit we decided to venture further into Faxafloi. We spotted 3 minke whales on the way, some shyer than others but all coming up a few times. Then - a blow on the horizon. It was a much bigger blow, so we went to investigate and found a humpback whale! This was quite exciting as we hadn't seen any for a few days and we even knew this individual by name: Black Pearl. Black Pearl showed its beautiful fluke a few times and when time was up we headed back to harbour. 

- Rob Hyman

Report from Hafsulan: The wind had picked up before we set sail on our tour but still the ocean condition were good and we had smooth sailing ahead. About an hour in we noticed splashes ahead of us and aimed in that direction. On the way we spotted a single minke whale that surfaced once but we continued towards the splashes that were made by a pod of 5-6 white beaked dolphins. After staying with them for a period of time we noticed a big blow in the distance. It was by a humpback whale named Black Pearl. When we got closer to it it breached twice to our amazement. On the way back to harbour flocks of birds started to gather at one point, we slowed down and took our time with the birds until 2 minke whales surfaced close by our boat. A happy end to an already great tour.

Kristin Ros

Report from Eldey: We sailed out today under the stunning and for a change warm sun. Faxafloi was looking very inviting and we were excited to see what we would find. As we sailed out, we spotted a minke whale. This individual came fairly close, probably thanks to our captain - the minke whisperer! We enjoyed each others company for a bit but then headed further out to see if there was anymore species or individuals. As we did we came across a pod of 6 white beaked dolphins. This pod was in a very fun mood, and was jumping, bow riding and doing full flips out of the water. It was a beautiful tour and we were all sad to head back to harbour when time was up. 

- Anna Richter

Sooty shearwater, Atlantic puffin and pufflings (!), common and black guillemot, razorbill, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic skua, herring gull, great and lesser black backed gull, black legged kittiwake, glaucous gull