Friday, 10 July 2015

Tour at 20:30

Report from Elding: This tour started with some rain but it very quickly cleared up leaving us with enough clear sky to watch much of the sun as it set this evening. The landscape was breathtaking and constantly changing as the sunset caused the lighting of the bay to change by the minute. There were many birds in the bay this evening but none were feeding making finding animals difficult. But after around 45 minutes we spotted a minke whale very briefly surfacing a few times. At the same time however we saw big splashes ahead of us that seemed like something exciting was happening so we sailed there. We found a massive pod of 30-50 white-beaked dolphins which was spread out all around us. We stayed for a long time with these dolphins and there were in all directions, we were toally surrounded by dolphins! Many were jumping metres into the air and making huge splashes, and many more were swimming around the boat and underneath us. It was a feast for the eyes and something really special to see for such a long length of time. We followed this huge group into the sunset before eventually turning back to Reykjavík and letting our on board musician Bjarni serenade us back to shore.

- Jack Ball

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hafsúlan: Bad weather decided to give us a break when we went out. The wind was weak and the sea was smooth, allowing us to quickly spot one shy minke whale. This individual did not let us come very close and quickly disappeared. So we headed further out to find a pod of white-beaked dolphins. Those dolphins were also quite elusive, allowing only few looks between deep dives and changing directions. Once again we decided to keep on sailing to find more relaxed individuals. Then things went viking. It started to rain, the wind rose up quickly and the boat began to shake. Bravery of the passengers could be tested, and everybody passed ! Those rough conditions did not prevent us to take good look to additional minke whales and white-beaked dolphins. We could follow several individuals and have close views, making this trip a rocky but very nice tour. We could have a nice taste of the true Icelandic climate alongside nice encounters with cetaceans before heading back home.

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: This afternoon started very similar to our morning tour, spotting a minke whale only after a short while. This animals was very calm and seemed to be feeding, but still easily to follow. We stayed with it until we decided to more on and look for other animals. We barely had the chance to leave the area, encountering minke whales all around. We watched these animals surface for a while until we heard of dolphins a short travel away, so we decided that we would try to find them as well. And indeed, only 5 minutes later we were surrounded by white- beaked dolphins. First those animals seemed to be resting, until a few started inverted leaping, tail-slapping and jumping. Not long after all of them started traveling and interacting, which we watched with fascination. On our way back we encountered 2 more minke whales, giving us a last goodbye, just before it started to rain and we went back home. Estimating 5-6 minke whales and 3-4 pods of white- beaked dolphins, around 25 dolphins.

- Michaela Buchbauer

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: It was proven that periods of nice weather do not last forever here in Iceland. We departed under heavy winds and quickly the boat was shaking. If passengers were looking for an adventure, they definitively could have a glimpse of rough sailing conditions. But this was not enough to break the will of our brave passengers that quickly spotted 2 minke whales. Those cetaceans gave us a hard time as they were not showing so much of their body, and the rocky boat was not making it any easier. After few glimpses we decided to travel further offshore hoping for better luck. Still undergoing viking sea conditions, we met a pod of white-beaked dolphins. There was 4 individuals traveling together, surfacing slowly, that did not seem to care about our boat. They were not easy to follow because of sea state, but we could stay with them a little bit. After a while, we took the decision to look for more minke whales, hoping for a closer encounter. Our prayers were answered when weather suddenly calmed down, allowing us to spot one more minke whale that came very close to us. More white-beaked dolphins even joined the party ! It almost seemed to be a reward for our patience and high spirits. When time was due, we went back to Reykjavik in an much appreciated smooth trip. 

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: We went out from Reykjavík on a cloudy day but it didn't take a long time until we encountered our first cetaceans of the day. Our first species was a pod of white-beaked dolphins. At first we only saw a couple of individuals but after only few minutes more individuals came around, a pod of maybe 5-7 individuals. We could see from the behavior of the animals that they were definitely feeding and we had some really good sightings. But after a while a minke whale showed up just few meters from the boat and distracted us so we lost sight of the dolphins. We were glad however to see a bigger cetacean like the minke whale so we kept our eyes on that individual. This animal didn't surface very often so we decided to move on. We took a big circle around the bay with no success except for a short glimpse at a pod of harbour porpoises. The time was running out so we started to move towards Reykjavík but thanks to some talented spotters on board we got some amazing sightings of another minke whale on our way back. This was a perfect way to end our tour.

- Katrín Björnsdóttir

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafsúlan: On this morning we went out from Reykjavik in search of cetaceans with a very good weather for whale watching, a bit of sun as well as clouds reflecting on the water surface, enhancing the contrast. Our search resulted in spotting several minke whales, which seemed to be a little bit shy and elusive in the beginning of our tour. After a while more animals appeared, that weren't playing "hide and seek" with us. We were enjoying these around 5 different whales for a while until we continued our travels, looking for other cetaceans. This didn't take us long, we spotted white- beaked dolphins just as we were turning the boat. Those 5-6 individual were clearly interested in the boats that were close by, checking out each one very thoroughly. At some point we had to head back to the harbour, while the sun was greeting us once more. 

- Michaela Buchbauer

Bird species seen on today´s tours include: northern gannets, northern fulmars, arctic terns, atlantic puffins, kittiwakes, common guillemots, greater and lesser black backed gulls, manx shearwaters, razorbills.