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Monday, 20 March 2023
Today we will be operating on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 9:00 Whale Watching tour. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land.
- CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:00
- CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised.
CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00
Report from Eldey: After our cancelled day we were very happy to be back out on this cold morning. We set off in strong easterly winds but we turned away from them to have the wind behind us meaning it was quite pleasant. We sailed through fairly calm seas for about 2 hours without any sign of cetaceans. We saw many seabirds though, in particular the northern fulmar and eider duck. Finally we spotted a blow! We had found a humpback whale. It was the same one we have seen a lot recently, Davy Jones II. At first this whale proved to be a bit elusive. During the early stages of this sighting we also saw a pod of 4-6 white beaked dolphins that were resting very close to the boat. After this Davy Jones II became much more active. Surfacing much more regularly and even showing us their fluke. The whale came very close on a couple of occasions which was fantastic for everyone to see. We then had to head back home after our patience was rewarded. It was a really great end to the tour.
- Rob Hyman
Bird species encountered today include:
Eider duck, northern fulmar, great cormorant, razorbill, common guillemot, black legged kittiwake and black backed gulls.
Wildlife encountered today:
The Humpback Whale is quite spectacular undergoing the longest migration of any mammal (5176miles/8334km one way), attracting females by singing to them and of course their energetic nature. On many occasions humpbacks have been seen breaching, tail slapping, fin slapping, blowing bubbles and spy hopping just to mention a few. The humpback is also one of the larger whales we encounter
The white-beaked dolphin is the most common dolphin found in the surrounding waters of Iceland and is seen not only in the summer but winter too usually in larger numbers, hundreds sometimes. When feeding they show energetic behaviour such as breaching out of the water and coming down with a big splash and bursts of fast swimming.