✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 20:30
Report from Elding: We followed our usual plan and headed for the areas where most of the previous sighted occurred during the day. As we reached this area we sighted a minke whale amidst a big flock of birds. Later on we understood that there were at least 2 minke whales in the area. As the animals was comfortable around us we were able to enjoy their presence for a quite a long time. On our way back to the harbour, our passengers could savour the golden light falling over our surroundings while the sun was finally setting. To make the trip even more amusing, we also played some music on the background!
- Ines Cunha
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 17:00
Report from Eldey: The sun was shining, together with a really cold wind, when we left the harbour. There were a few white caps on the sea surface, but nothing that would stop us from looking for our beloved cetaceans. After an hour sailing, a passenger spotted one single dorsal fin coming up to the surface. We took a circle to check which animal was the owner of this fin and, suddenly, a small blow appeared really close to the boat. It was quite likely to belong to a minke whale but, unfortunately, even though we gave the animal a try to show up, it never did. Nontheless, a small pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins showed up 600 metres away. We got to the place and after a few quick surfaces, these animals decided to go somewhere else. Without loosing the hope, we continued our tireless searching until we got back to the dock. Unluckily, it was not possible to see anything else this time, but our passengers showed us a big grateful smile when we offered them the opportunity to try again free of charge. I hope we can see all of them again on board!
-Elena Gutiérrez Ruiz
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 14:00
Report from Hafsulan: The whole tour this afternoon was accompanied by sunshine, which was really lovely. Sea conditions were still the same as in the morning. After searching Faxaflói Bay for about an hour we spotted a big flock of birds and we also had heard word of a few cetaceans in the area. One minke whale did come up in between the birds, but it disappeard after that. We did need our patience after that encounter, as the next whales kept us waiting, Eventuelly two more minke whales could be seen around the boat, surfacing unpredictably and diving for longer times in between. We did get to see them quite close to the boat in the end and everyone managed to get a good look at them. All of a sudden we were also surrounded by 7-10 harbour porpoises. It is very rare to see these animals close to the boat, as they are usually very elusive. However, they kept surfacing all around us, sometimes only 2 or 3 meters from the boat. It was amazing to see them close up. On the way back we could enjoy the sunshine even more, with the wind in our back.
- Diana Besel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 13:00
Report from Eldey: After a successful morning tour we started of under very similar weather conditions, back out into Faxafloi Bay. It took us about one hour and we found our first minke whale. It kept surfacing two or three times before going on deeper dives. With lots of fish on the bottom of the bay, which we could see on our fish finder, it was very likely eating down there. It came back to the surface three times before we moved on, trying to find another animal. When we got a call from another whale watching boat that they had seen dolphins, we followed prompt and spotted another minke whale on the way. What we did find was a third minke whale, which only surfaced once before it ket disappearing on us, going on deeper dives and too hard to follow. Distracted by the whale, we continued our search for the dolphins and found them only a few minutes later. A pod of 5-7 white-beaked dolphins was swimming all around and underneath the boat, playing quite some tricks on us and the two rib boats that were near us. It was a real pleasure to watch those beautiful animals being so friendly and curious and we only left them after 2 more boats were arriving at the scene and we had to head back into the harbour. It was a real joy to watch those dolphins and that our passengers were able to take those memories home with them.
-Christina Winkler
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 10:00
Report from Hafsúlan: The weather was very nice, and the sea was very calm aside from a bit of an undercurrent, but it didn’t bother us at all! We headed out towards our other whale watching boat, because they reported to us that they had some animals in that area. And they sure did! When we arrived we found a minke whale! It was very relaxed and it was most likely feeding just underneath our boat, it surfaced quite a few times right next to us! It was just wonderful to see and we then noticed we had many more whales around this area, about 7-8 minke whales! We also had a brief encounter with about 3 harbour porpoises, but they disappeared very quickly, so we just focused on all the awesome minke whales instead. It was a beautiful tour with so many animals!
-Kristín Viðja Harðardóttir
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 9:00
Report from Eldey: The sea looked really flat while leaving the harbour. Just a few waves will keep us awake once really out in the bay. Half an hour after the begining of our trip, a massive flock of active birds could be sighted from a great distance. We decided to sail towards that direction because, usually, that amount of birds means a lot of fish in the area, which often attracts the animals we are looking for. After a while sailing in that course, a small blow appeared on the sea surface still a bit far away, followed by the clear shape of a minke whale! After a few fast surface sequences, ít dissapeared misteriously....to appear 30 cm from the bow of the boat! What a surprise! After a few minutes with us, it went somewhere else, so we decided to follow our sailing. We didn't have time to recover from the first sighting when a small pod of 4 white-beaked dolphins was spotted! These 4 dolphins were around the boat for a while. There was even a small baby in the group and, for the joy of all of us, this little calf was feeling playful and jumped in front of our sight! Such and adorable creature! After leaving these beautiful animals, we had a sighting of, at least, 7 minke whales in total, together with a new pod of white-beaked dolphins! We were literally surrounded by marine mammals that we didn't knmow where to look!! That's what I call a good start of the day.
-Elena Gutiérrey Ruiz
Bird species identified today: arctic tern, atlantic puffin, northern fulmar, arctic skua, common guillemot, razorbill, northern gannet, manx shearwater, lesser black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake.
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today at 9:00. The weather today is beautiful, but if you are prone to getting sea sick, we do have sea sickness tablets available free of charge at the office and on board. The sun is shining, but make sure to dress warmly and make use of our warm overalls as it is always colder on sea than on land. For more information contact us by email elding@elding.is or by phone +354 519 5000.
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