Friday, 05 September 2014

Tour at 17:00Report from Hafsúlan: this time we sailed to the west instead of going straight out. We had excellent view of Seltjarnarnes and the Grótta lighthouse before turning out into the bay. The wind was stronger than it had been during the day and there was bad visibility, we could barely see Akranes and Hvalfjörður for instance. We did see 2-3 harbour porpoises and 1 minke whale on this tour eventually but both only momentarily so that we decided to offer all passengers a complimentary return ticket so that they can come with us for free within the next two years,- Baldur ThorvaldssonTour at 13:00Report from Hafsúlan: we went out amidst stronger wind than before noon; it had also started to rain a bit. We went to the same areas as on the earlier tour but then found first hand how quickly nature can change. The feeding frency that had been taking place with the northern gannets was over and almost none could even be seen flying. We did see 3 different minke whales on this tour though but none for more than a moment and just a small part of the back plus the dorsal fin. As we thought that none of them had been seen well enough to see the passengers leaving satisfied, we decided to offer them complimentary return tickets so that they can come back free of charge within the next two years.- Baldur ThorvaldssonTour at 09:00Report from Hafsúlan: we sailed out in a bit of swell and noticed a lot of bird feeding activity around. The first minke whale of approximately 3-5 popped up soon but it was travelling fast so we missed it. We went then further out and came across what is no doubt the best gathering of northern gannets diving that I have seen in a long time. There were several dozen of them, all going down like crazy at the fish below them. Among them and nearby were at least 2 other minke whales, trying to get a part of the feast but unfortunately, unlike what is often the case, we did not see any lunge-feeding activity; ideed the minkes on this tour were challenging but could still be observed all right.- Baldur Thorvaldsson

Birds seen on today's tours include; gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes, black-backed gulls, common guillemots.