Friday, 26 July 2013

Tour at 20:30

Report from Elding: For the first time today the sun was shining when we headed out to visit Akurey, the Puffin Island. Unfortunately there were just very few Puffins home, most likely because they were offshore fishing or in their burrows so we kept on sailing. It took us a while before we spotted 3 pods of White Beaked Dolphins and they were so much fun. Jumping, moving fast, swimming under the boat and even bow riding in the waves. It was totally spectacular. And on top the bright midnight sun painting the sea orange. We found a Minke Whale calf later on, saw it a few times but than headed back to Reykjavík. It was a lovely midnight tour with some music on the way back from our musician Daníel.

-Lisa Hofmann

Tour at 17:00:

Report from Hafsúlan: The weather was perfect as we headed out, the sun started shining and the sea was mirror calm. We spotted our first Minke Whale in about half an hour. We followed it for a while but it was very calm. We continued our tour and found a pod of 3 White-beaked Dolphins. They were probably sleeping so we decided to head towards a big flock of birds that we saw further out. There we encountered about 3 more Minke Whales and we watched them until we had to start heading back. On our way we stopped in Akurey where there were not a lot of puffins this evening but always beautiful to see.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: We decided to head straight out into the bay to see if the animals from this morning were still there. And we were lucky. We spotted several Minke Whales after half an hour of sailing. They were again actively feeding and we just turned of the engine and enjoyed the wonderful Minkes all around us. In total we saw between 10-15 individuals, coming very close to the boat. The last stop of the tour was Lundey, the Puffin Island where we saw a lot of the "Penguins of the North" as the Puffins are called. Great day!

-Lisa Hofmann

Tour at 13:00:

Report from Hafsúlan: The fog had lifted a little when we headed out and the sea was still very calm. We had only been sailing for a few minutes when we spot a pod of 3-4 White-beaked Dolphins. They seemed to be sleeping but we watched them for a little while before continuing out. Further out we saw a flock of birds and underneath them a Minke Whale surfaced. This was the first of many but there was plenty of food in the bay andwe have probably seen up to 10 Minke Whales. On our way back we stopped in Akurey to see the beautiful puffins.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: Our first stop today in a misty morning was Akurey, the Puffin Island. We got to see many Puffins which was a good start of the day. After 30 minutes of sailing we spotted a pod of White Beaked Dolphins. This pod was a bit scattered but we got to see them quite well. It took us another 5 minutes of searching before we spotted several Minke Whales actively feeding all around the boat. And more Dolphins between them. It was a real "Whale and Dolphin Party". We had between 15-20 Minkes and 40-50 Dolphins everywehere around us, it was incredible. There must have been a lot of food in the bay as we saw loads of sea birds feeding with the whales. At the end of the tour we even had a large pod of Dolphins bow riding in our waves. It was a whale of a time!!!

-Lisa Hofmann

Tour at 9:00:

Report from Hafsúlan: It was very foggy this morning but the sea was mirror calm. We started in Akurey where there were thousands of puffins sitting on the water. As we got out in the bay we spotted a Minke Whale. Later we spotted another one and this one came very close and even swam sideways right beneath the surface so we could see its whole body. Then we saw a pod of 8-10 Harbour Porpoises which were feeding around the boat. Later we saw a pod of 20-30 White-beaked Dolphins although they were very scattered in the area. One of them was even jumping high out of the water. Such an amazing morning tour.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir