Sunday, 1 August 2021
✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00
Report from Eldey : A very flat sea this morning that we thought would be ruined by the rain. But the rain stopped a few minutes after our departure so we could stay dry during the tour and the visibility was nice, with this silver colour on the ocean it is easy to spot the whales. We heard that a boat spotted a humpback so we headed there. In the way we saw a minke whale surfacing three times on our right. We arrived to the humpback whale that fluke dived maybe 2 times but then took a nap. The animal was very quiet, relaxing near the surface and we followed it with respectful distance for a while. We headed further away to see if we could find some other specie. We found a 2 or 3 pods of white beaked dolphins. There was a group with two babies that were surfacing with there mom. One of the calves started jumping it was heart-warming. Other dolphins came and played with the boat for a while, bow riding and jumping.
- Miquel Pons
✔ CLASSIC PUFFIN TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00
✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00
Report from Þruma: What a great morning on the bay, flat seas, no rain or wind and plenty of wildlife to be seen. We started the tour with a humpback whale that was clearly visible in such calm conditions lunge feeding under a group of birds. The whale left the water with open jaws on a number of occasions, showing its expanded throat full of water. Feeling content with our views, we journeyed further into the bay and found a lone minke whale moving slowly through the water, pointing its snout clear of the surface each time it came for a breath. Once the minke dove deeper, we went in search of nearby dolphins. The pod of 5-6 white-beaked dolphins came towards our RIB, within a metre as they investigated from below, swimming quickly to and from the boat. As we cruised on a steady and slow course, another humpback whale was seen resting at the surface which the dolphins started to interact with. When the whale went out of sight, the dolphins leapt from the water, landing on the area the whale was last observed. Sadly, our time came to an end and we headed home, but were followed by the dolphins who enjoyed bow riding and surfing in the wake of our boat.
- Mike Smith
✔ SEA ANGLING TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00
✔ PREMIUM PUFFIN TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00
✔ CLASSIC WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE 13:00
Report from Eldey: Chances to see whales were high on this one but one is never sure. Almost flat seas and not bad weather let us be even more hopeful. That means more visibility in most cases. It took us about 45 minutes to encounter our first cetacean. It was a humpback whale, most likely feeding close to the bottom. It was the one we saw a few times in the bay this week. It has not a name yet. After a well spent 20 minutes with that animal we tried a bit further were we found another humpback whale. This one was also feeding as pretty friendly towards us too. It did not seem to bother us that much. Although it was pretty much focused on its feeding patterns. A pod of 5-6 white beaked dolphins showed up nearby another one of our vessels, they were pretty playful and interactive. After that, we decided to head back. On our way we saw other 2 humpback whales. They were pretty much around us, swimming peacefully and showing us their flukes.
- Jorge Pascual
✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 14:00
Report from Þruma: The beautiful conditions continued into the afternoon and after the morning, we left the harbour feeling very positive. Almost immediately, we encountered a single minke whale that came within 20-30 metres, surfacing calmly before rolling its back for a deeper dive. Once this happened, we went in search of other cetaceans further out. Next, we had a meeting with a humpback whale that appeared to be travelling very slowly and refused to lift its fluke. We knew of others in the area and decided to look for these, hoping to show our guests the graceful dive of the whale and found another individual after five minutes of searching. This whale did show its fluke, which made all onboard very happy. Whilst watching the humpback, a pod of white-beaked dolphins consisting of 5-7 made their way in our direction, closely followed by other tour operators. Due to the boat presence, we observed from a distance and continued with the nearby humpback. Another humpback soon came into view which was logging at the surface, soon followed by at least 3-4 that were easily seen in the extremely calm conditions.
- Mike Smith
✔ CLASSIC MIDNIGHT WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 19:00
Report from Elding : The weather was similar than in the afternoon, maybe less visibility, a bit more cloudy but still very calm and flat. We headed directly to the area where we had successful encounter previously tdoay. We lasted a while to find a pod of 7-8 white beaked dolphins. If one are two came to see our boat from closer the pod remained at a certain distance. There were first a bit elusive, then jumping, then socializing swimming very close to each other. One of the young calves started jumping in the water it was very cute. We decided to look for something bigger and after a good search, the captain with his eagle vision saw a breaching whale that was at more than 4 miles ! We went there and found the humpback whale. We saw a fluke dive followed by a breach ! There was a second humpback further away but we decided to stay with the jumpy one. There was a few white beaked dolphins around that quickly disappeared. It looked that after this breach the animal was a bit tired and did not move that much. Then it approached several groups of birds and was lunge-feeding ! A very beautiful tour.
- Miquel Pons
✔ PREMIUM WHALE TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 20:00
Report from Þruma: The sea remained smooth but the weather worsened as the night drew in. A fine mist meant that by the end of the tour everyone was drenched but the weather did not dampen our spirits. The sightings we had throughout the day caused us to be hopeful that it would continue and we lucky enough to see four cetacean species, although some sightings were brief. First, we saw a small pod of harbour porpoises that showed themselves once or twice but the encounter was too short to gauge the number of animals were in the group. We then journeyed out far into the bay once receiving word of whale activity, finding two humpback whales with a pod of white-beaked dolphins. As we arrived, the humpbacks went in separate directions and the dolphins vanished into the mist. We chose to head with one individual but unfortunately for our guests did not lift its fluke. The humpback swam at a fair speed only showing its dorsal fin and a portion of its head before slightly raising its back for a shallow dive. As the whale was not demonstrating any elaborate behaviours and was heading further out in the bay, we turned and headed in the direction of Reykjavik, stumbling across a minke whale. This individual moved very slowly in our direction, coming within 20 metres of the RIB, allowing for great views.
- Mike Smith
Bird species observed: northern gannets, northern fulmars, puffins, common guillemot, black guillemot, great skua, arctic skua, arctic tern, black legged kittiwake, herring gull, lesser black backed gull, greater black backed gull.
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. Masks are not mandatory but are recommended in areas where keeping distance from others is not possible.