Saturday, 17 June 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 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
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• 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: Today the weather was similar to the previous day, grey sky, no wind and a calm sea. We started our tour in time and just outside the harbor we spotted the first minke whale, traveling alone. Meanwhile we slowed down to see it better I saw other 2 sneaky individuals in the same area. One popped out quite close and we could admire the big black back and the prominent dorsal fin. Then we saw a pod of about 7 white beaked dolphins, with a mother and the calf. When they got closer one of them started jumping super happy getting the passengers very excited!!! Before saying goodbye to us they also started surfing the boat waves..it was so nice! Our tour couldn't be better when we also spotted 2 harbour porpoises crossing our route and few blows in the distance of 3 humpback whales. We came closer and we could see these gentle giants breathing on the surface and 2 of them diving together all the time. The last fluke dives were super close to the bow and we also spotted other 3 minke whales around us, with a total of 6 individuals during this tour. All the passengers were both happy but sad that we had to go back due to the time ran out. For sure it will be a nice memory of Iceland during this Indipendence day!

- Marta

Report from Eldey: The weather on the mid-day tour was fairly clear, almost no wind and calm sea. It started off with a steady cruise from port with a harbour porpoises sighting early on. There were 2-3 individuals who were quite shy. Further from the harbour the wind picked up a bit and clouds were getting thicker. Eventually we got far out enough to spot 2 minkes and 3 humpbacks close to the previous spot where we went on the morning tour. The minkes was elusive and they appeared quickly so there was only short sightings while the humpbacks appeared several times with some nice fluke-dives to show off for our guests. We then saw 5 harbour porpoises again being very active for a change. They were porpoising at the surface creating splashing which is very rare. In the end everybody was very happy with the tour. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson (and Rob)

Report from Eldey: The sea felt much calmer as we went out for our evening tour. On our way out we saw a few minke whales in the distance but they only ever surfaced once. This was all about to change though. We got further out and as with previous tours later in the day recently it was amazing. We got to see 6 humpback whales, at least 80 white beaked dolphins and 5 minke whales all feeding together. It was spectacular. The humpbacks were blowing bubbles creating a wall to aid their feeding. The dolphins were swimming around in circles following the humpbacks to help them feed. We also saw the humpbacks lunge feeding after blowing the bubbles. The dolphins were leaping out the water so much as well as blowing their own bubbles, spy hopping and even mating! Within the humpbacks we saw we immediately recognised 3: Becca, Happy and Hadassa. It was a really special tour.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Hafsulan: We left the harbour in perfect conditions: almost no wind and a calm flat sea with silver reflects. There was a tiny bit of rain in the start but quickly we had some clear sky and a red sun reflecting on the surface of the water towards the end of the tour. We saw SO MANY cetaceans. During the way out we counted 4 or 5 pods of 3-5 harbour porpoises, and 4 or 5 minke whales. Then we arrived to an area with at least 10 humpback whales 4-5 more minke whales, and a minimum of 60 white-beaked dolphins. All the animals were feeding, diving, the humpback showing theire tail, the dolphins in close pods swimming under the boat then jumping, then accelerating then doing some strange behaviour. It was absolutely amazing to see whales and dolphins surfacing everywhere around us. A few times a humpback whale surfaced close to our boat, breathing a few times before going for more food under the surface. And just before we left, 3 humpback started to feed at the surface, vertically lunge-feeding with there immense mouth open. Amazing tour.

- Miquel Pons

Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern, Arctic skua, black legged kittiwake, common guillemot, black guillemot, great black backed gull, razorbill, lesser black backed gull, northern fulmar and northern gannet.