Friday, 13 August 2021

Friday 13 August 2021

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00

Report from Eldey: Sea conditions were great as weather itself. It really was something to look forward to. It took us some time to find the first cetaceans. It was a pod of about 9 white beaked dolphins scattered in groups of 3 to 4. There were also these new born calves with them, probably a month old by now. Some of the juveniles and older dolphins started breaching and also jumping out of the water. As we had enough good view of them we decided to go a bit further into the bay in the hope to find other cetaceans. It took us another hour to find our first humpback whale of the tour. It was going for deep dives and showing itself a few times. Our passengers seem to be very excited to see this animal. Pretty majestic. As we had to rush back to Reykjavik we left this whale at its own pace. Closer to the harbour we managed to get a glimpse of another humpback whale. This time no time for a stop unfortunately. It was quite a good tour in my opinion.

- Jorge Pascual

✔ CLASSIC PUFFIN TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE x2 |  10:00

Report Þruma II RIB: In Reykjavík, the weather was absolutely perfect. The sun was shining and the air was completely still. Once we had passed the pretty puffins in Engey, that are unfortunately heading out to the open ocean, it got a bit choppier. There was a string of wind carrying into Faxaflói bay from Borgarfjörður fjord in the north, and further out in the bay it was almost pretty rough. Luckily, we didn't really need to go that far out. Instantly at Engey, we saw 3 harbour porpoises already, super close to shore! Further out, we spotted 3-4 harbour porpoises more, but did not stop for them for a long time. We found a pod of 4-6 white-beaked dolphins, but they were not very interested in us and pretty quickly moved away. We drove a bit around the bay and then had the word of some more dolphins from our sister boat, Þruma IV. These dolphins were more playful, coming a bit closer to the boat to check us out. We then moved to a humpback whale that was close by, but it was very sleepy and relaxed. We stayed with it for about 15 minutes. On our way back, we stopped for another humpback whale, which was a bit more lively, showing us its fluke for a couple of times before we needed to head back!

- Fróði Guðmundur Jónsson

Report Þruma IV RIB: It was so sunny and warm today even in on the rib boats its always a bit colder with the wind. The sea was quite calm even if it was picking up a bit during the tour as the wind coming from north west was getting stronger. We did not find anything for a while but our patience was rewarded in the end as we saw a pod of at least 5 white beaked dolphins. They were not very frendly but it was still nice to see how there were going. There was a calf and it always makes us happy to see those little ones. Then we got infos from other boats that found a humpback whale not faraway. We went there and stayed almost until the end of the tour with this individual. The animal was very calm, staying near the surface and swimming slowly. We went back and saw a second humpback whale that was doing the exact same thing, staying near the surface. We had a stop in Akurey to see the atlantic puffins and went home.

- Miquel Pons

✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

Report from Þruma: The wind strength was increasing throughout the day which was noticeable during the tour as white caps emerged. This made for a more challenging sea state to spot wildlife but we felt confident due to the large number of birds that were seen on out outbound journey. As we passed the flocks, we scanned the areas below thoroughly and saw one minke whale, however the whale did not linger long. It showed itself three times before disappearing. We persevered to the end without any success. Complimentary tickets were issued.

- Mike Smith

✔ PREMIUM PUFFIN TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

✔ SEA ANGLING TOUR ON SCHEDULE 13:00

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 14:00

Report Þruma IV RIB: The wind picked up a lot and it was much more choppy during this tour. It was still sunny and warm so the tour was not unpleasant. We looked for a long time before we finally found something. A pod of white beaked dolphins that was swimming quite fast. It was impressive to see them going through the waves and surfacing with so much energy. They came once very close so we could have a good sighting of those dolphins. Then we went more near the whale fjord where we found a lot of birds and we could spot a minke whale. We saw it surfacing three times before it disappeared. It is very challenging to see minke whales in this sea conditions. We went back with the great view on the landscape and Reykjavik under the sun.

- Miquel Pons

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 15:00

Report Þruma II RIB: The wind was still very strong and the ocean surface was very frizzy. We had talked to other boats in the bay before heading out and they were not finding many whales, so we decided to head into another direction and went to the south region of the bay alongside the Reykjanes peninsula. We got lucky there, as our captain spotted a blow from a humpback whale. We approached the area where the whale last surfaced and waited. It then came up right next to the boat, and kept doing that for the next half an hour. It just stayed very close to us, rolling around under the boat and checking us out. It gave us a couple of nice fluke dives, and then they show started. It began with a very unexpected high and double tail slaps, before it did very calm high-tails up from the ocean for at least 8 times in only one minute. It then went calm again and we were going to leave as time had come for us to do so. However, as we were about to leave, it breached right next to us! It must have been no more than 15-20 meters away, and just by the side of the boat, as we got some splashes over us from the breach! It was an incredible sighting and a very apt way to part ways with this amazing individual humpback whale.

- Fróði Guðmundur Jónsson

✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 16:00

Report Þruma IV RIB : It was very similar to the previous tour, choppy but sunny and warm. We went south this time to try to find something bigger than during the previous tour. There we saw dolphins from faraway, only a glimpse but our attention was attracted by a blow. We approached the humpback whale that was there, resting, swimming in direction of Keflavik. We had the smoke coming up from the volcano on our left and a humpback whale on our right. Not something that you can live everywhere. We stayed with it a while and decide to try to find something else patrolling in the bay but we had nothing in sight. We went back to Reykjavik after a stop to see the atlantic puffin that will soon leave us and another short stop to see harpa from very close.

- Miquel Pons

✔ CLASSIC WHALE WATCHING ON SCHEDULE | 19:00

Bird species observed: northern gannets, northern fulmars, puffins, black guillemot, great skua, arctic skua, arctic tern, black legged kittiwake, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, greater black backed gull.

COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised. Masks are not mandatory but are recommended in areas where keeping distance from others is not possible.