SATURDAY, 13 JUNE 2015

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hafsúlan: Conditions this afternoon were windy and the sea state getting rougher as we headed out. We hugged the northern coast on the way out to escape the worst of the waves and then turned south towards our main whale watching area. It was a long cruise but when we got there it was worth it. Quite quickly we found a pod of white-beaked dolphins  which were very social. There were between 10-20 of them and they were leaping all around us and swimming close to the boat. A very fun encounter and we hope our passengers got a few good photos of the dolphins leaping through the air. We stayed with the dolphins for a while until a minke whale  was spotted behind us, This individual was a bit elusive and we only caught glimpses of it in the distance. Then towards the end as we were leaving another minke came up right next to us three times! An absolutely fantastic end to the tour! 

-Ívar Elí

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: The wind had picked up from the earlier tour and on our way out it was pretty cold but the view was still amazing. We were hoping that the minke whales were still feeding at the area that we last saw them but unfortunately they were gone. We spotted a pretty large pod of white-beaked dolphins, 6-8 individuals traveling in a group. They got pretty close to the boat and the passengers got a good look at them. We stayed on them for a while and then kept on searching. We spotted another pod of white-beaked dolphins 30 minuets later, a smaller pod, maybe 3-4 individuals. By the end of the tour we had pretty much given up hope to find a minke whale but on our way back we spotted one under a flock of arctic terns. Unfortunately he only surfaced once and then we lost him so the passengers didn't get a good look at him. We stayed on the area for some time but as we were running out of time we headed back to Reykjavík harbour.

-Katrín Björnsdóttir

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: A little more wind was blowing over the morning tour as we journeyed in to the bay. There was quite  number of whitecaps which made spotting difficult but we managed very well. No sooner than 5 mins after throwing down the gauntlet of offering a chocolate bar to the first passenger to spot a minke whale before me, was the first minke spotted by a passenger. The minke not only cost me a chocolate bar but also became very elusive and difficult to spot. So soon we moved to areas where we thought would be more fruitful in our efforts. And so began the marathon of white-beaked dolphins. Pod after pod raced by in and around the boat. I soon was not able to keep up with all the sightings. After around an hour of watching dolphins we moved closer to the harbour where we spotted our next minke who was much more considerate to our passengers. It was moving very slowly and delibrately and close to the boat. We soon used up our allotted time and we had to make our way to Reykjavik. What a fantastic end to a great tour. 

-Tommy Torrades

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: We went out from Reykjavík harbour. The weather was stunning, very good for whale watching. On the way out the wind was pretty heavy but when we began spotting whales it calmed down. We heard that Hafsúlan was spotting minke whales so we headed in that directions. After a little while of scanning we spotted at least 3-4 minke whales. We stayed in that area for quite a while and more and more minke whales showed up. By the end of the tour we had spotted at least 7-8 minke whales in the area. This ares was rich with fish load so it was clearly a good feeding site for the whales. On our way back we had beautiful weather and the view over Reykjavík and Esja was just amazing. This was a really good tour and the passengers looked pretty happy. 

-Katrín Björnsdóttir

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafsúlan: With high hopes we steamed out from Reykjavik in to the beautiful bay of faxafloi. With almost zero cloud cover we could see for miles and miles. After 30 mins of steaming, the first cetacean that we spotted was a large pod of white-beaked dolphins. They were content to leap and breach right beside the boat. We followed them for about 20 mins before turning and seeking a minke whale that was seen in the distance. As we approached the minke was joined by another one and for the next while we just idled with the engine off and watched minke after minke and of course white-beaked dolphins. Soon we ran out of time and back we steamed to Reykjavik. A great tour right up until the end as dolphins followed us all the way. 

-Tommy Torrades

Bird species seen on today's tours include: northern gannet, northern fulmars, lesser-black backed gull, puffins, common guillemots, manx shearwater, arctic terns, kittiwakes, eider ducks.