Sunday, 21 July 2023

Today we will be operating our Classic Whale Watching on our lovely vessel Eldey at 9:00, 13:00, 17:00 and 20:30 and our just as lovely Hafsúlan at 11:00 and 15:00. Our Premium Whale Watching tour will operate on Þruma I-V at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00.

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:00; 11:00, 13:00, 15:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00, 14:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00, 20:00

Report from Eldey: today our morning started with very good sea conditions. The winds coming from the North were weak, the visibility showing Snaefellness peninsula and the very few waves breaking indicated that we'd be able to spot any sign of life of Faxaflói bay. And what a morning we had: minutes after we passed by Gróttar's lighthouse, we spotted 2 blows in the distance. When we were heading there, we needed to stop: we saw another 2 blows closer to us! We had 2 humpback whales in the same area, different directions. We sticked around them, still checking which one was closer so we could focus on one for a bit. The first one was very calm, going for lazy deep dives and taking her time at the surface catching some breath. The second one was more active, spending up to 3 min under water. It even went for a shallow dive and came right after, lunge feeding once! Also, every time it went for a deep dive, it showed its fluke majestically, up in the air. While we were checking these individuals out, we could even see 3 other blows all around, in the distance. We continued our trip and, following another blow, we saw another humpback to add to this very nice morning. The sun was still shining amongst the many clouds and we headed home shortly, cause all of the whales were fairly close to the shore of Reykjavik. Lovely morning!

- Milla Brandao

Report from Hafsulan: Wasssaaaaap? We sailed out in a quite calm bay of Faxafloi. We decided to check out an area not too far away from the coast because there was a lot of activity the day before. We were not disappointed. After some time we found the first blow: It was caused by a humpback whale. It seemed very calm and behaved very predictably. It was easy for us to follow that individual and it showed us its beautiful fluke several times. We did not want to disturb that individual too long and sailed around looking for other animals. Within that region we encounterd about 4 different humpback whales and also 1 elusive minke whale that came up right in front of us all of the sudden. What an amazing tour in the beautiful bay of Faxafloi.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Eldey - We embarked on our whale-watching adventure under rather blustery conditions, with brisk winds and larger-than-usual swells adding to the excitement. Despite the challenging sea state, our spirits remained high, and it wasn't long before we were rewarded with our first sighting: the blow of a humpback whale feeding in the area, regularly surfacing close to our boat. Encouraged by this success, we ventured further and soon noticed more blows in the distance. Steering towards them, we found ourselves in the company of another humpback whale, which astonished and delighted everyone by breaching suddenly, launching its massive body out of the water in a breathtaking display. As we prepared to head back, a third humpback whale approached us, swimming gracefully beneath our boat, its enormous form clearly visible in the clear water. This incredible encounter capped off an unforgettable day on the ocean.

-Aleksandra Lechwar

Report from Elding: The wind had picked up since the morning and we had an adventurous tour in Faxafloi today. With the increased wind also came an increase in activity of the whales swimming around: we saw a minke whale and a humpback whale breach today! The minke whale jumped out three or four times, at a large distance from us but her full body clearly visible above the water. In the same area, a humpback whale was swimming around but he was more elusive and after some time waiting for him to resurface. We spotted the blows of two more humpbacks, each of them diving for a long time, but we got lucky with the fourth humpback. This individual came up close to the boat, and eventually even breached within 50 meters of us! On the way back we spotted two more humpback whales. This was a wonderful tour where we definitely got to experience Icelandic nature, including lots of wind, waves, and whales! 

- Eline van Aalderink

Arctic skua, Northern fulmar, black-legged kittiwake, black guillemot, Atlantic puffin, greater black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull