Friday, 5 July 2024

Today we will be operating our Classic Whale Watching on our lovely vessel Eldey at 9:00, 13:00, 17:00, 20:30 and our just as lovely  Elding I at 11:00 and 15:00. Our Premium Whale Watching tour will operate on Þruma I-V at 14:00.

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

Report from Eldey: The morning started with a few white caps, winds coming from the North and a cloudy sky, but the conditions were still good to spot our favorite animals! We never know what to expect, and being the first tour of the day just raise the mystery even more, so out we went in the bay. While we sailed out, the weather started to change. The visibility was getting way better and we could even see now the volcano of Snaefelljökull. In the direction of the city of Akranes, we spotted a couple of dorsal fins coming up and we realized we encountered about 25 white-beaked dolphins in the area! During the whole sighting, there were individuals jumping, even multiple of them at the same time! Always beautiful to see them coming close and showing off their high jumps. It was a big pod, that at some time were all swimming together, and at other they were divided, and we could share them with other boats around. However, there were more boats coming and this can completely change their behaviour with more vessels around, so we decided to continue our way. The sea conditions were even better and the mountains of Akrafjall and Esja were also shining with the sun. We really enjoyed this summer weather until we got back to Reykjavik, excited of what the rest of the day had for us!

- Milla Brandão

Report from Hafsulan: We sailed out on this lovely sunny morning without too much wind. We didn't even have to wait very long before we spotted our first cetacean, we were hardly past Grotta. A minke whale had surfaced right in front of us. It came up many times, this whale seemed to be resting so was very calm. In the same area another 1-2 minkes also appeared but these ones were surrounded by feeding Arctic terns. After a great start we decided to carry on and head out into the deeper parts of the bay. On our journey out we saw another 2 minkes. Then finally we found what we had been looking for, a big big blow. We saw it go off a few times before a huge fluke appeared and this humpback whale went for a dive. It was only down for a few minutes before surfacing very close to us. We could see the big white pectoral fins through the water too. It then disappeared for a while but in the meantime we saw another blow further away towards the south and then a rib had seen a blow behind us too. So likely there was 2-3 humpbacks in this area. We got too see one fluke dive from the one behind us too which was really cool. We then headed home very happy and even saw the minkes from the start of our tour as we got back towards Reykjavik. In total we saw 5-6 minkes.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Eldey: We set sail on a sunny and partly cloudy afternoon with strong streams of wind. We started to explore the bay of faxafloi very excited and enjoying the weather. We started to see groups of puffins flying around and artic terns fishing. Suddenly, the scene became worthy of a national geographic documentary, as among the artic terns fishing, a beautiful minke whale emerged! This one was a bit elusive and shy, feeding a couple of times and then disappearing into the ocean. We decided to leave it alone, but it was a great start to the tour as it was very close to Reykjavik. THE TOUR COULD ONLY GET BETTER! And so it was... soon two humpback whales appeared. This sighting was beautiful as they were two whales moving and swimming together, going parallel to each other. It looked like a couple of friends just strolling and looking for somewhere to eat. We spent a long time with the whales, we even got to see them lunge feeding. After a while, we decided to leave the whale and keep exploring the bay. Surprisingly, we saw a minke whale again, although this one was also very shy and we only saw it on a couple of occasions. We slowly decided to return to the port with the passengers very happy with the sightings of the day and above all there was one very excited passenger who was very grateful that the tour was good and above all the attitude of the captain (Ottó) respecting the humpback whales and above all keeping his distance.

- Sergi Gonzalez 

Report from Hafsulan : We ventured into Faxafloi under a partially cloudy sky and strong wind. Birds were present per dozens, mainly puffins, arctic sterns and seagulls, all diving everywhere. Just a few minutes after leaving the harbor, we found our first minke whale! It was traveling in front of our boat, and we watched it surfacing quite a few times before it disappeared from our sight. Shortly after, another minke whale appeared to our left and just like the first one surfaced a couple of times before continuing its journey. After sailing a bit more towards the center of the bay, we spotted a big blow in the distance : a humpback whale ! That individual was very active, and we observed it for a while constantly diving, showing us its fluke, and resurfacing in a different direction. To our great surprise, its surfaced incredibly close to our boat at some point, causing screams of excitement amongst our passengers. Th humpback stayed in the area and we observed it until it was time to finally head back to Reykjavik. 
 

Olivia Garcia

Report from Eldey: on this tour, the North winds picked up a little bit and the sea looked choppy. But for sure this didn't stop us from finding the cetaceans and spending some time with them! Not long after we left the harbour, we were caught by surprise by a minke whale passing by, so close to the boat! It was a great first encounter, maybe telling us that this was going to be a good tour. However, that was a tricky one, and we could only see it a couple of times before it disappeared. So we decided to continue our way. A couple of minutes after, we spotted another minke whale, passing by us fast before vanishing! We waited for this individual for a while, but then we continued the trip to see what else the bay had for us. So in the middle of the tour, we spotted something big in the distance: it was a big blow of a humpback whale! We were still getting close, but we got very excited when we saw already the fluke, going for a deep dive. This one wasn't spending long under the water, and everytime it would pop up in a different spot, making us wonder if there was 2 individuals instead of one. However, all the pictures we took of the fluke indicated the same individual! We enjoyed it for a while, tracking the while through the surface by its long and white pectoral fins, but we saw we were running out of time and started our way back to Reykjavik, enjoying the beginning of a beautiful sunset that was slowly coming.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Elding: Our passengers were eager to start our tour today, which was blessed with a majestic sky that was clear enough so that the night sun could paint it with a beautiful orange color. As we ventured out to sea, we had a true sailor experience, Icelandic style, with waves hitting our boat's bow and sending splashes up into the sky. Not long into the tour, our crew spotted 1 minke whale, which surfaced 3 times, before disappearing. Later on the tour, we sighted our 2nd species, a lone humpback whale coming up for air. Unfortunately though, both of these whales seamed to be very shy and the waves also made it difficult for most people to see them. So, believing our costumers deserved a better experienced, we handed complimentary tickets to them, so that they could have another free tour with Elding, either here in Reykjavik, or up North in Akureyri.

-Ricardo Mendes