Saturday, 18 August 2012

Tour at 17:00Report from Hafsúlan: The wind picked up a little from this morning but it was very sunny and we had a great view of Reykjavik and it‘s surrondings. We had to sail out a bit before we spotted a Minke Whale. This Minke was a very calm and surfacing all around us and sometimes very close. We spent as long as we could with this very nice and relaxed Minke before we had to head back to Reykjavík. We also saw many nice seabirds at this tour for example Artic terns, Northern Gannets, Common Guillemot, Great Skua, Fullmars and more.

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: this tour did not have the interactive Minke Whale as before but enough for everyone to return satisfied to Reykjavik. We started off by going where our sistership Hafsúlan had reported some success. There we had the pleasant sight of a Minke Whale but there was more than one and more than two, indeed we think that there were at least four Minkes present in the area. We were also practically surrounded by Northern Gannets diving all around us! (the splash when they hit the water looks in some cases like a whale's blow) which indicated the reason for the whales being there: lots of fish. At least one Minkes came very close to us and swam just meters away. We saw its entire body just under the surface and realised that it was only a young animal, maybe 2-3 years old, it was so small. Then when we were preparing to leave, a small pod of Harbour Porpoises (3-5) made a visit but we did not spend much time in their presence as we had learnt of White-beaked Dolphins nearby. We found them and enjoyed to the max their speedy travelling back and forth, around us, in front and behind for twenty minutes or so. This has been an incredible week with Dolphins. May it long so continue!

Tour at 13:00Report from Hafsúlan: The bay had cleared up from this morning so the sea was mirror calm and it was the perfect condition for whale watching. We sailed on out and after a little sailing we spotted a small pod of Harbour Porpoises! We got a very good look at these otherwise shy animals and saw their beautiful bodies well.  We then sailed on to see what else was in the bay to day, after a while we spotted a Minke Whale.  We saw this one sufacing few times and got a good look at it before we decided to head on. After only a short sail we saw splashes in the distance and when we got closer we found out that this was a pod of White Beaked Dolphins! The were swimming fast but when we were watching them we saw more dolphins in the distance. There were many dolphins around us, some coming very close while others stayed in the distance. We sailed with them for as long as we could before we had to head back to Reykjavík. This was a great tour in a beautiful weather!

Pictures taken by Guðmundur Geir Einarsson and Sunna Björk Ragnarsdóttir

Tour at 10:00

Report from Hafsulan: INCREDIBLE TOUR !!! We got a SPY-HOPPING, ROLLING and very CURIOUS young Minke Whale who went under our boat from the left, right and front side at least 10 to 15 times! We could hear, see and smell the small stinky blow of it. It was a small speciment around 7-8 meters but still so impresive to watch it so close to the boat that we could touch it. It spy-hopped several times touching the bottom of the boat and checking on us. We could see a bit the eye, the whole body and the different patterns and colour on it, the fluke and the white patches on the pectoral fins! Passengers could realise how beautiful a Minke Whale is, with its very triangular head and perfect shape of body. Better to see it like this than breaching! It was just so calm and stayed so long with us, rolling under the surface that we could see its white belly, turning around the boat, going under and lifting up its head right to the air above the surface just to have a better view at us. ASTONISHING! We all smelled its very stinky fishy breath,which is not the most pleasant thing to smell, when it came and breathed near the boat. The fog was already around us and got thicker when the guide spotted a small group of 4-6 White Beaked Dolphins, which were not easy to follow with the misty foggy weather, that we could appreciate as a mystical end of trip, with quite a peaceful strange atmosphere...

Tour at 9:00

Report from Elding: it was with mixed feeling that we sailed out this morning. The bay was foggy and the conditions to see far out were all but ideal for whale-watching. Would this be a tour of hard/no sightings? It is essential to look at the bright side when you start a whale-watching tour though and what nature had in store for us was just the most breathtaking thing that this guide has seen. We started with a small group of Harbour Porpoises (3-5) for about ten minutes but then learnt of a Minke Whale close to Grótta lighthouse so we went there. We went to watch this Minke Whale but for the good while we stayed there, it was difficult to determine just who was watching whom. This Minke was just the most easy going whale I have ever seen and did the greatest stuff. It spyhopped! It practically rubbed against the boats present. We were speachless! Words cannot give the experience justice enough so have a look at our videos and images! And as if we needed an addition, a small pod of White-beaked Dolphins (4-6) also arrived on the scene. However, they disappeared into the fog and we did not have time to look at them as we had to go back to Reykjavik, with smiles reaching between our ears!