Sunday, 6 August 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 19:00 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
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

Report from Eldey: We are now back to true Icelandic weather it seems, this tour left us soaked from the rain. At least the sea was very calm meaning those who stayed inside had a lovely time. After sailing out into the bay further the rain did become more gentle. It was almost as if the white beaked dolphins managed to hold off the rain for us. We saw 2 pods during this tour and both times the rain stopped as we spotted them. The first pod we saw had 4 individuals and the second had 6. The first pod came towards us very fast then suddenly slowed down. They even started to feed at one point, they were splashing, swimming in circles and coming up very fast. They also were bow-riding. The next pod also came very close for us to see them swimming in the water. These individuals also leaped for us! It was a great two pods for us to see.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Hafsúlan: we had a rainy tour this morning, but it didn't stop us from finding the cetaceans today. Everyone got very equipped with raincoats and overalls and we sailed out on a very calm sea, with almost no swell. Our first encounter was right after we left the harbour, a harbour porpoise right in front of us! We continued our trip and not even 5 minutes later we spotted a minke whale around us, very close to a fishing boat. We could see it a couple of times before heading far out to see what else we could spot, after this good beginning. We saw some longer dorsal fins in the distance and we realized we had a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins travelling around. We got closer to them as they calmly swam and we could stay a while admiring their color patterns on the side of their bodies. We decided to explore other areas and we got to one where we could see another minke whale! Super unpredictable and elusive, but we still could see it coming closer to a flock of birds, always following food. In the same area, a pod of 10 harbour porpoises were actively swimming around, and next to them we saw another pod of 8 white-beaked dolphins. A super productive area indeed! On the way back, we stopped by Engey, one of the islands we go to see where the Atlantic puffins nest. At the end, we had a lovely rainy morning with many encounters, in this bay full of life!

- Milla Brandao

Report from Eldey: Our tour today was rainy all the time but we had perfect conditions of the sea: it was calm like a lake and we did not have any wind. Despite the calm vibes, we met many Atlantic puffins on the way and other seabirds. We spotted the first 3 harbour porpoises swimming and then we saw 1 pod of white beaked dolphins, around 6 individuals. We spent some time with them and they were very lazy and relaxed. After that we changed area and we saw 1 minke whale, super tiny but quite elusive. Also a second one just popped up in the same area but very quick. We also spotted few more harbour porpoises on the way back and even if it was all very calm it was a nice tour.

- Marta Filippini

Report from Hafsulan: It was pouring down rain when we left Reykjavik, but the sea was perfectly still so conditions were good to spot activity. Just outside Engey we saw 2 harbour porpoises and later on more individuals surfaced close to us. A bit further out the rain stopped and the sun came out. 2 pods of white beaked dolphins joined. They where feeding and playful. Not long after a minke whale popped up. A nice ending to a beautiful tour out in the bay. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson

Report from Hafsúlan: We started the tour under a rainy sky but as soon as I came out to guide the rain was gone.  We were very lucky to miss it this time. We had a small swell that made the ride funnier and as soon as we got further out we were delighted by the presence of 3 minke whales. There were two of them swimming together! This is very rare to see in this species. Also 2 of them got very close to the boat so we could all admire them properly. After that, we continued and it took us some time until we got to see 2 white beaked dolphins that surfaced out of the blue! They played a little bit with us before vanishing in the distance. After that we headed back with an amazing sunset behind us. Beautiful tour!

-Nicolás Corral