Monday, 14 August 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00. 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 19:00 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
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

Report from Eldey: We started the day with blue skies and seas again all hopeful for an adventure out in the bay. As we sailed out there was little wind and we could feel the suns warmth on our face. We sailed for about an hour and then found a spot where all the birds seemed to be meeting. This is a good sign of food and quickly we saw something bigger as well. A pod of 9 white beaked dolphins had found this spot and were busy feeding. They swam all around us, even under us and bow riding. It was truly a sight to see. A few individuals and a calf would often jump out of the water as well! In the mix of this breakfast buffet the dolphins were enjoying we also saw 2 minke whales. Sadly our time ran out and we had to start heading back to harbour, seeing one more minke on the way. 

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsulan: The sun was shining bright with a light breeze as we set sail from Reykjavik. Conditions were great, but we did have to wait until we were far out in the bay before we saw activity. Several minke whales appeared in the same area, at least 5 individuals. They were feeding while seabirds joined in all around us. We enjoyed their company for while they started lunge feeding, and  then it was time to start sailing back to Reykjavik. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson

Report from Eldey: This afternoon we sailed out into the still sunny faxafloi. We've been very lucky to have a sunny and even slighty warm temperatures in Iceland of course once we start moving there is always a little wind. After about an hour of sailing we spotted a blow in the distance, then another one! As we got closer we could identify this cetacean as a minke whale! The area was filled with Northern gannets who were plunge-diving as well. There was another blow in the distance, so turns out there were 2 minkes in this spot. This first minke was a bit tricky, but we soon found a third individual who was easier to track and even lunge fed a few times. We stayed with this stinkey minke as long as we could but when time was up had to start our journey back to Reykjavik.

- Kristin Ros

Report from Hafsulan: We set sail out from Reykjavik harbour in clear skies, light breeze and sunshine. Like previous tours we had to travel far out before we saw some activity. On our way a pod of 8 white beaked dolphins appeared. They were feeding and popping up at the surface in sync. Further out we met 5 minke whales. They were tricky to follow at first but after a while we got close and saw them lunch feeding. A beautiful tour in the bay. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson 

Report from Eldey: Today was truly a minke Monday! Faxafloi was still calm and blue as ever and we started our adventure. After about an hour of sailing we saw lots of birds on the horizon. This is always exciting to us as they are bio-indictors and show that there is fish around. As we got closer, three blows in one go! They were 3 minke whales. And then another one and another one! In total it was roughly 5 - 7 individuals all feeding around us. There were a few individuals that came very close to the boat, often coming up multiple times. Along side the minke whales were lots of different birds including the Northern gannet, often plunge diving. They often would all come up at the same time and also go for their longer feeding dives at the same time as well, leaving us in anticipation of when and where they would appear next. As always there was not enough time in the day and we headed back to the harbour, seeing one more minke directly in front of the boat and extremely close! 

- Anna Richter

Report from Hafsulan: This evening the tour started slowly but with beautiful weather conditions and clear skies. It took some minutes before the first animals appeared but eventually they did. Around 10 Minke whales were spotted during the tour in the same area around the boat. Since all the animals were in this area we didn't had to move much to see them. We spent almost the entire tour in this spot admiring the individuals and after we had to start to head back to the harbour.

- Rodrigo Silva

Northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, Northern fulmar, black legged kittiwake, eider duck, common guillemot with juveniles, herring gull, great and lesser black backed gull, manx and sooty shearwater