Friday, 30 June 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00 and 12:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 20:30 Classic Whale Watching tours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land.

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 20:30

Report from Eldey: We sailed out in a calm sea which made it good conditions to spot blows of cetaceans even far away. Soon after we left the harbor we saw a very active flock of black-backed gulls which means that there is a lot of fish underneath. The birds are of course not the only species that feed on small fish so we kept our eyes open for any cetaceans that might be nearby. We were successfull and saw an elusive minke whale. We continued our search further out and soon encountered a pod of white beaked dolphins that came very close to our boat. On our way back we saw one very elusive and fast travelling harbor porpoise. During our tour we saw a total of 4 different minke whales.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Hafsulan: We found the sea this morning with little to no waves, making our way out into the bay smooth and enjoyable. A minke whale popped up in front of us from the start, before quickly disappearing, announcing the type of trip this would be. Further out the bay, 2 of its kin appeared and stayed with us for a prolonged time in an un-minke fashion. Following the numerous flocks of birds at sea, we encountered consecutivley a pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins and another minke whale, followed by a pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins passing by. To finish our morning ride, we had once again the privilege to see 3 minke whales roam around the boat, for everyone to fully enjoy before heading back home.

-  Anna Richter and Alex Paumier

Report from Eldey: Today our tour started very well with a first sighting just outside the harbour. We spotted 1 minke whale not so far from the shore and everybody could see it very well as it came very close to the bow. After a while we went on sailing a bit far out to spot something else and I saw in the distance 1 pod of white beaked dolphins. There were around 8 individuals with 2 calves included. It was so easy to see them from far distance as they were all jumping and having fun. Once closer we could see them better and also another minke joined the area. Suddenly 1 humpback whale popped up in front of us from nowhere and we all were amazed by that! It was quite shy though but we spent some time with all these creatures. Close to the end of the tour I saw another blow in the distance and we wanted to chase that before leaving. Indeed we met another beautiful humpback and this time it delighted us with its fluke dives!!! 

- Marta 

Report from Hafsulan: We started the tour with an average icelandic weather (cloudy and a bit windy). As we got further it was taking us a bit long to spot any signs of wildlife in the bay...until we saw a blow!! It was from a humpback whale. We approached it and we got to see it from quite close. After spending some time with it we decided to continue in seek of other animals. As we were looking for activity, a HUGE humpback surfaced right in front of us! What a pleasant surprise. We stick with it for some more minutes. We could even enjoy few fluke dives as well! With this one it was 2 humpback whales in the tour! Then on our way back we spotted a minke whale too! What a beautiful tour!

-Nicolás Corral

Report from Eldey: This time we sailed in the same area we saw the humpback in the previous tour and we sailed a bit more far out towards North. The tour started with a glimpse of sun in front of us and the rain on our back so it was quite good. Many birds joined us during the journey such as many puffins, arctic terns and northern fulmars. People really enjoyed these birds making us company for a while. After a bit we finally saw 1 blow in the distance and we found out it was 1 humpback whale, the same we saw at the end of the previous tour!! This humpback was very relaxed this time and we could also admire few elegant fluke dives. Also 1 minke whale showed up sometimes very fast but shy and elusive. It´s been a nice tour with all the people excited and happy for the beautiful whale spotted. 

- Marta  

Arctic tern, Arctic skua, Northern fulmar, razorbills, common guillemot, Northen gannet, Atlantic puffin, glaucous gull, lesser and greqt black backed gull