Monday, 21 March 2022

Today we will be operating on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00 and 13:00 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 | 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. 

Report from Elding: With a low wind from the East and a low swell in the sea, it was a perfect day for winter whale watching in Faxaflói. On the way out into the bay, we were kept company by northern fulmars gliding very close to our boat and we briefly caught a glimpse of three harbour porpoises. When we reached an area with many kittiwakes and northern fulmars - many of which were diving into the water to resurface with small fish in their beaks -, we saw another animal that had been attracted to this rich feeding area: a humpback whale! The individual was taking short dives and showed us its fluke many times, which allowed us to recognise that this was the whale Mariupol (we name each individual whale we encounter and can distinguish them by the unique underside of their fluke). Sometimes, the whale came unexpectedly close to our boat and we could hear its impressive breath and watch its silhouette through the water. We sailed home talking about the wonderful encounter and about the importance of protecting this and other marine mammal species while enjoying the beautiful landscape surrounding us. 

- Eline van Aalderink

Report from Eldey: Another snowy afternoon greeted us as we walked onboard for our 1pm whale watching adventure. The snow stayed with us as we headed offshore to the same area we saw Mariupol (frequently seen humpback whale the last weeks), easily identifiable by its unique white fluke, and linear scars on its body. It was cold and not the most pleasant weather but we wrapped up with the free onboard overalls and got outside to be ready of any encounter we were to have on the way. It took us about 1hr 10mins to reach the area where hundreds of kittiwakes, seagulls and even a few gannets were feeding and once again Mariupol the humpback whale was there to greet us once more. Obviously still feeding. Just a quick one or two surfaces before travelling back down in the water column for another munch. Humpbacks are a baleen whale, hundreds of baleen plates hang from the upper jaw to filter small schooling fish from the water they take in by engulfing as much as they can fit in their mouth at once. Mariupol the humpback wasn’t bothered by the boats and even surfaced just meters from us. WOW! What an awesome whale. Once a third vessel came, we decided to leave and look for more cetaceans around. Unfortunately there was none to be found so we looked back at the pictures we got of the wonderful Mariupol. Can’t wait to see him again tomorrow.

- Megan Whittaker

Black-legged kittiwake, black-backed gulls, glaucous gulls, european shag, northern fulmar, northern gannet, common guillemot, eider duck