Saturday, 18 July 2015

Tour at 20:30

Due to rough conditions at sea, we have decided to cancel our Midnight Whale Watching tour this evening. Please contact our ticket office for further details +354 519 5000 or elding@elding.is

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hafsúlan: After the wind had magically calmed down during the tour at 13:00, it picked up a lot again when we went out for the last tour today. It was a very bumpy and rocky trip but still some passengers had a lot of fun and were enjoying the movement of the boat. The sea conditions didn't make it easy to spot cetaceans, but after about one hour of sailing, we found two small pods of white-beaked dolphins with 3-5 individuals in each pod. However, they didn't seem to be in the right mood for whale watching and it was difficult to keep track on their movements. So we decided to leave them alone and find other animals. We were slowly heading back to the harbour when we came across the same humpback whale as on the previous tour. It was traveling slowly, so that we could follow easily and get some nice pictures as it was showing us its fluke. After a while, we had to leave this lovely humpback whale alone, and head back to Reykjavík. Quite a few passengers had green faces during the tour but at least we were rewarded with the white-beaked dolphins and a humpback whale!

- Hanna Michel 

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: Sea conditions were still a little bit rough when we left Reykjavik. A heavy wind was blowing and we got shaken in many occasions. Still, the passengers remained brave, and this was rewarded by an excellent encounter with a humpback whale ! This cetacean treated us with one of the best experiences a whale watching trip can provide. It was moving and surfacing very slowly, probably resting. The whale showed us its fluke several time but never went for a long deep dive. And the icing on the cake was that the sea conditions calmed a little bit during our time meeting with this animal ! This relaxed humpback allowed us to get very close, and surfaced many times next to the boat. It was nearly impossible to miss it, between the powerful and loud blow, and the surfacing of this gigantic body less than 10 meters away from the ship. The water was clear enough to enable us to follow its direction underwater and take a look at its big white pectoral fins. Some puffins also honored us by their presence on this unique moment. After more than half an hour with this amazing individual it was time to come home. When we heartbreakingly left this whale, it started to travel again, almost like it was moving on after completing a successful mission. We came back home absolutely grateful of our luck on this tour.

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The weather from the morning had calmed down and we had very smooth sailing during this afternoon tour. This made our experience an awful lot easier than in the morning and we had much greater success. It still took us some time to find the animals, around 80 minutes had passed before we sighted our first minke whale. This was a very calm individual that mixed slowly travelling with feeding around us, it was also one we knew very well named 'Haski' which always gives us great tours. In the area we could also see 2 more minke whales travelling so this was an area full of life. Then we spotted a huge blow in the distance which made us very excited! It was a humpback whale! And it was as good as we hoped from this species, travelling very close to the boat and lifting its tail high into the air right beside us. This was a really nice tour with surprisingly good sailing conditions and some fantastic whales.

- Jack Ball

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: Although we have been very successful in this summer, you cannot always win. On this tour, the Bay of Faxa showed that it can keep its wonders secret. We scanned the sea thoroughly but only hardly found some birds. And the weather was not helping. We were constantly shaken by the swells, and the powerful wind made the temperature chilly. Passengers did their best to fight these conditions, and most of these impressively brave people took the challenge with a smile. Yet, we had some sad casualties, and plastic bags were proven to be useful. But it is certain that everyone can walk home proudly after experiencing and surviving to harsh viking conditions. Because no cetaceans were spotted, we offered complimentary tickets to the passengers willing to take another shot in the next 2 years. We wish best luck to those unfortunate but tough people.

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafsúlan: Similar to yesterday, the sea conditions were challenging today, and so we went north first to gain some shelter from the land. After about one hour of sailing, a minke whale popped up only about 80 m away from us. It surfaced five times so close to us and most of our passengers got a good look at this individual. However, after it went for a deep dive, we didn't manage to spot it again, so moved on to find other cetaceans. There were a few small flocks of feeding birds today and we even could see the fish swarms under the water surface underneath them. Unfortunately, we did not find any other minke whales or dolphins for the rest of the tour, so we offered our passengers the complimentary tickets. These tickets allow you to come with us on another tour for free, and they are valid for the next two years. 

- Hanna Michel

Bird species seen on today's tours include: northern fulmars, kittiwakes, common guillemots, puffins, arctic terns, black-backed gulls and arctic terns.