Friday, 18 August 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00 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
• 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
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 19:00

Report from Eldey: This morning we set sailed into a moody and atmospheric Faxafloi. After about an hour of sailing we got to a spot where all the birds were feeding so decided to hover and wait a little bit. We spotted 1 elusive minke whale, and a grey seal! We stayed in this area, hoping some more cetaceans would pop up and join the party. We did not have any success so continued further out. We spotted 2 more minke whales but both tricky to track. Unfortunately we ran out of time and headed back to harbour, we decided to hand out complimentary tickets so that everyone has the chance to come again and see the bay and all its wonders. 

- Kristin Ros 

Report from Hafsulan: We sailed out in this windy morning hoping the big waves would lead us to the whales. After riding out the bay in the surprisingly pleasant sea, we came upon 6 white beaked dolphins. A couple of them appeared bowriding really close to us for over 10 minutes, before dissapearing without a trace. This left us wanting more, and soon enough, 2 minke whales appeared on our path. As we waited for them to reappear, another pod of 5 dolphins roamed further from us. Trying to follow any of these individuals, we entered a zone that entertained us with an amazing aereal show: over 30 Northern gannets, diving to feed continuously, flew all around us. This was just as 2 other minke whales crossed our paths, close enough for all to see both blow and blow whole, as a last joyful sighting of the morning.

- Alexandre Paumier

Report from Eldey: Gannets galore and minke madness today! On our afternoon tour we sailed out onto grey seas again, the wind had dropped a fair bit and it was a pleasant outward sail. After about 45min we spotted 2 dorsal fins - it was a pod of 4 white beaked dolphins! They were clearly busy feeding as their movement was quite erratic, often changing direction. They swam around us a bit but eventually moved on, so then we did too. We ventured further out and came across a Northern gannet feeding frenzy! It was juveniles, young adults and adults all dive plunging around us! Absolutely amazing to see. In the mix we spotted 3-4 minke whales as well. Two of which came incredible close to the boat and we could hear their blow. We stayed as long as we could but then headed back to harbour when time was up. On the way home we had a lot of Northern fulmars using the drag of our boat to lift themselves up and coming so close it felt you could touch them!

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsulan: We sailed out with the wind in a rather calm sea with low swell. We decided to go to an area where we had sightings on previous tours. When we got closer we could see that this part of the bay was still very active. There we a lot of different bird species but the highlight were definitely the uncountable plunge diving northern gannets. Within that area we kept looking for cetaceans and soon spotted the first minke whale. It was changing directions a lot and seemed to be feeding. We saw a total of around 4 minke whales that kept coming up for short breaths. Not long after that we also found a pod of around 6 white beaked dolphins that came really close to our boat. We had amazing encounters today and sailed back happily.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Eldey : We started our sail under grey skies, but no rain, which is quite rare for Icelandic standards. There is a bit of swell today, so we advised all our passengers to take a sea sickness tablet prior to the tour if they are not used to the sea. Off we went looking for animals. After some time we noticed 2 harbour porpoises passing us by very fast, harbour porpoises are not known for showing off so much, therefore we continued our way. A minke whale then appeared at the surface, some of us got to see it twice before it disappeared, clearly not in  the mood. Then we crossed path with a pod of 3 white beaked dolphins, these dolphins were bow riding and gave us some nice views on their sleek bodies and nice grey and white pigmentation pattern. After some time we continued our trip and ended in an area with over 100 northern gannets plunge diving, it was super impressive. We looked in the area for cetaceans, without any luck, but witbnessing this very cool spectacle of so many gannets diving together to get fish. We continued our sail through the bay and lastly crossed path with another pod of white beaked dolphins, this pod was of 10 to 12 individuals, including a baby, very close to the pod. What a great way to end the trip.

- Rodrigo Silva

Report from Elding: We sailed into the windy night with the hopes of repeating our morning sightings. Going straight out of the bay, we first came across a pod of 5 harbour porpoises, noticed only by a very few as they disappeared as quickly as they came. As we finally saw in the distance a hopeful flock of birds, 4 dolphins crossed our path. Travelling up to the North of the bay, they quickly faded into the waves as we tried to find them again. We reached once again our coveted Northern gannets flocks, that had entertained us throughout the day. As we circled around their plunge dives, 2 minke whales passed by our boat. Though there were some sightings, given the harsh conditions and the little presence time of the animals seen, the crew deemed this tour would provide complimentary tickets. Leaving our plunging gannets, we went back through the windy night to the harbour. 

- Alexandre Paumier 

Northern Gannet, Atlantic puffin, sooty shearwater, manx shearwater, herring gull, glaucous gull, lesser and great black back gull