Monday, 10 July 2023

 Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 14:00, and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Elding  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 very calm and sunny bay of Faxafloi so we had really good conditions to spot cetaceans. On our way out we already encountered a harbor porpoise very close to the boat. However it was very elusive so we decided to continue our search further out. Soon we encountered a pod of around 8 white beaked dolphins that we could even stay with for a while. We saw a lot of feeding Arctic Terns and decided to continue our search in that area. There we found two feeding humpback whales and around 3 minke whales around. It was spectacular to watch but we did not want to disturb the feeding whales for too long. On our way back we saw one more pod of feeding white beaked dolphins. We then enjoyed our way back in the beautiful icelandic sun.

-Lasse Roggenkmap

Report from Eldey: This afternoon we had some minke mania! We sailed out into weak Westerly winds enjoying the sun on our faces. After roughly an hour of sailing we found a low fog cloud and entered it. In it we found a feeding frenzy and there were minke whales all around us. It was tricky to count but there were between 6-8. Amongst the minke whales 2 humpback whales also joined the party. Both came quite close on occasion and both showed their fluke. One we recognised from previous tours over the last week. After more boats were coming in and we had been in this spot for a bit, we headed further into the fog. After only a few more minutes of sailing we found a pod of 5 white beaked dolphins! They were actively feeding and playing all around our front and starboard side. When time was up we started heading back to harbour. Now the wind was coming from behind us so it was a lovely relaxing journey back in the sun, sun cream in hand. 

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsula: We sailed across the bay with a beautiful sunny weather and a lovely calm sea. Everyone was already excited for the tour ahead but also for the perfect sea conditions. Just after a while we met few harbour porpoises , swimming fast all around us. The visibility was perfect and spotting dorsal fins breaking the ocean surface was pretty easy. Indeed we started spotting 3 minke whales in front of us but then we realized that there were about 6 individuals in total. To join the party also 2 humpback whales were seen and one of them just jumped out of the water unexpectedly!!! It breached twice and everybody was super excited! This tour couldn't be better with so many bird flocks and surrounded by so many cetaceans. As always, time flies when we have fun and we had to come back when suddenly another humpback whale popped out from nowhere very close to the left hand side of the boat. We enjoyed this animal swimming and breathing in front of us leaving us all open-mouthed.

- Marta Filippini

Report from Hafsula: The weather has been on our side all trough out the week and this morning was really good as well. Sun and almost no wind, but as we got a bit further out into the bay we sailed into a thick mist, but it luckily disappeared. once we got further out. Closing in on an area where there was activity on the early tour. Seabirds joined us in our direction and small flocks appeared all around us. Soon enough a minke whale appeared and through out the tour saw spotted 6 individuals. White beaked dolphins joined in in the area that turned out to rich with food. We saw 4 small pods around us. Then 2 humpback whales surfaced close by, they were also feeding. We got to hangout with all these cetaceans for almost an hour and we got close enough to some of them to see they're whole body. Once we turned back to Reykjavik we also saw 4 harbour porpoises, giving a nice ending to this tour. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson

Report from Eldey: The sunset was lovely as were the waves that swayed us gently back and forth. We sailed out into the bay and it took us some time to find something of interest. But we did eventually. It was a humpback whale, and not just one. It was probably 4 individuals in one area. They all kept popping up unpredictably and going down for fluke dives often. In between the whole humpback spotting we also saw two small harbour porpises pop up once. After spending some time with the humpbacks we headed further out and encountered a lot of minke whales. These were busy going from one place to another so we got occasional glimpses of one or the other. About three of the roughly 8 minkes we saw we got to see from closer, showing us how cute they actually are. In the end we were already heading home when we encountered a small pod of white-beaked dolphins that even jumped out of the water a couple of times to show us their beautiful white stripes and other markings. A lovely ending to a good day.

- Cindy Schwenk

Arctic tern, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Atlantic puffin, common and black guillemot, Arctic skua, herring gull, black backed gull, black legged kittiwake, eider duck, oyster catcher, black-headed gull.