Friday, 9 August 2013

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The wind had totally calmed down when we headed out into the bay to visit the Puffins on Engey, one of the Puffin Islands close to Reykjavík. Unfortunately there were no Puffins so we headed straight out because it is the time when the Puffins leave us to head back to the open sea. We had been searching for a long time until we finally saw a Minke Whale right in front of the boat it was traveling quite fast but we got some very good looks and the joy was huge as we spotted a pod of White Beaked Dolphins maybe 5-6 individuals. The moved very slowly and we got to see them very well before we headed back home, nice end of the day!

-Lisa Hofmann

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: We were luckier on this tour as we got to see two Minke Whales but one of them only once. The other was a lot better and we saw it surface many times. We also got to see a lot of seabirds, gannets, manx shearwaters, fulmars and more which was great. There were less puffins on the island so they must have been offshore feeding. The sea seemed to have calmed down on this tour and the weather felt warmer, well as warm as it can be in the North Atlantic. Still our passengers made use of the overalls we provide onboard.

- Megan Whittaker

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The weather was very nice when we went out but it was cloudy. We stopped by Engey on the way out, there we saw 3 puffins sitting on the island. Many of the puffins have left us as it is getting closer to the end of summer but fortunately we saw some more when we got out to sea. After 40 minutes of sailing we spotted a Minke Whale under a flock of birds. We satyed in this area and we saw at least two minke whales, possibly more. They surfaced a few times around the boat and we saw a lot of Gannets and Manx Shearwaters in the same area. we enjoyed this sight for as long as we could before heading back to the harbour. A great tour after a rather disappointing morning.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: The sea conditions were much better today so we could go out from Reykjavik. It did rain throughout the day though on and off but most of the time it was dry. We stopped off at Engey puffin island at the beginnning of the tour and saw quite a few but we saw most puffins out offshore. We were unfortunate that we didn't see any whales on this tour. The only point that we saw hope was when we found a flock of seabirds which is usually a really good sign but no whales. We enjoyed watching the gannets plunge into the water and fulmars glide past.  It was also nice just to be out on the water. Complimentary tickets were given in the hope they will have better luck next time.

-Megan Whittaker

Tour at 9:00

Report from Hafsúlan: It was quite windy this morning in Reykjavík but once we sailed out it was much calmer in the bay. First stop was Akurey, the Puffin Island but unfortunately it is the time when the Puffins leave us to head back to the open sea so we saw only very few of them. Even though we searched for a long time in Faxa Bay we couldn´t spot any animals. We saw lots of Northern Gannets diving into the ocean which is always spectacular. We gave our passengers complementary tickets valid for 2 years so they can come back on another tour with us for free.

-Lisa Hofmann

Birds seen on today's tour: Northern Gannet, Atlantic Puffin, Arctic Tern, Arctic Skua, Fulmar, Kittiwakes, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Cormorants, Eider Ducks, Greylag Geese. Common Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Razorbills.