Sunday, 25 February 2024

Today we will be operating on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 9:00 and 13:00 Classic Whale Watching tour. Make sure to dress according to weather, as it is usually colder at sea than on land.

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 9:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00

Report from Eldey: beautiful morning in Reykjavik today, with the sun shining on us from the very beginning of the tour, no wind and flat seas. We ventured in between the islands in front of Reykjavik to find a humpback whale in the distance, but as other ships were already around the animal we decided take a detour and pass in front of the port of Skarfabakki. This was done in order to check whether the other humpback whales sighted in the area, a total of three, were on that side of the bay. As we didn't find any, we decided to go and check out the one seen in the distance. This one was gradually moving towards the port while feeding, taking deep dives (without too much rush) followed by breathing sequences of 2-3 blows. After observing this individual from up close, we decided to leave it fattening up in peace, and we ventured north-east of the island of Viðey. We done this in order to find the other two individuals we knew that should've been around the place, but we didn't see much more than pretty birds and sea ice. We therefore moved back to the area where we originally were, to find out that another humpback joined the first! And they were both gleefully feeding on the abundant fish. We then left for home, not finding the third humpback but sure that we would see it next time.

-Francesco

Report from Hafsulan: Our tour started with calm seas and swift wind coming from the mountains but nothing that a warm overall couldn´t withstand! After some 15 minutes, we spotted our first humpback whale near the harbour constantly feeding on British sardines! It would roll sometimes and we could even see the fish jumping out of the water before the whale could eat them. We had several close encounters as the animals chased these fish everywhere they went. After a while, we left this gentle giant to look for more life somewhere in Kollafjördur. We sailed against the freezing wind and then we found another humpback whale. This individual wanted nothing with us and kept swimming in a straight line. We didn't want to bother this whale's mission, so we said goodbye to her and decided to check on the other one once more. Afterward, we returned to the harbour with a cold face and warm hearts.

- Pedro Teixeira and Francesco Golin.

Northern fulmar, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull, raven, great cormorant, red-breasted mergansant, greylag geese, Icelandic gull, european shag, eider duck, black guillemot, razorbill