Tour at 20:30
This evening we started by going to see the puffins in Akurey. There were plenty of puffins on the island which we observed for a few minutes before heading out to see the whales. We had sailed for about 30 minutes when we spotted a huge splash on the horizon, not sure at first what was causing it, but we were hopeful that it was a Minke whale because the previous trip had seen a breaching Minke whale. It seems we were in luck as well, it was probably even the same one! We saw it breach a few times, but only from a great distance, when we sailed closer we couldn't find the whale. We headed on a bit and came to an area where there were probably 3 Minke whales, the blow was really visible this evening as the sun was so low in the sky! We were able to spot the whales a few times, but they were teasing us a bit and disappearing for long periods of time. On the way back to the harbour we were able to observe a really beautiful sunset. A really nice trip :)
Tour at 17:00
Now it was really windy but the sun was still on full beam and the skys were still clear of clouds. We sailed straight out into Faxaflói Bay and after about 40-50 minutes where there was flocks of feeding birds were on the previous tours to indicate to us where the whales were had disappeared. However, even though the wind was strong which sometimes makes it a little difficult to spot a Minke it wasn't long until we did. It surfaced quickly and the then disappeared. Then we saw another a few minutes later and after about 3 surfaces before that one disappeared too. A short time after that we spotted another which we were able to spend a bit of time with because it was surfacing regularly. After a bit of time we lost that one too but it looked like it was heading towards a small flock of birds which suddenly became a massive flock of mainly Gannets. I've never seen so many diving Gannets in such a small area before. We drove past but didn't see the Minke. After a while of searching, never taking our eyes of the flock of Gannets we saw one Minke Whale surface feeding which caused a lot of splashes. As we got closer we saw it surface feed a couple more times then it surfaced as normal only 10-20 meters from out vessel. As we were about to leave and head to Puffin Island we saw a big splash in the distance, yes........BREACHING MINKE WHALE!!!! whoo hoo. The Minke breached 4 times before stopping. Excellent. At the end of the tour we stopped off at Akurey and saw loads of Puffins, home from spending the day on the sea. Amazing.
Tour at 14:00
This time it was windier then in the morning but we found one Minke whale, probably the same one from our 10:00 o´clock tour. It had the same size, look and behaviour, coming close to the boat and showing the head first. We saw many birds on the bay, diving gannets, skuas chasing other smaller birds and flocks of seagulls. Yet another successful tour.
Tour at 13:00
We wind had picked up for this tour but the sky was still blue and the sunny was still shining. We started the tour at Lundey and only saw a few Puffins. We then headed out to the same area as the last couple of tours and once again the birds didn't fail us. We headed straight for the flocks of birds, Flocks of Gullls, Gannets, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Skuas, Arctic Terns, Puffins and Guillemots and their young. There were quite a few Minke Whales seen on the tour but we must of only concentrated on about 3 or 4, it was hard to tell exactly as there were sometimes a couple in one area. One time we headed to a flock of birds that we thought the Minke Whale that we were watching was headed to then suddenly under the birds two Minkes surfaced at once. Later on in the tour we also got to see a Minke lunge feeding (bringing a 3rd of the body out of the water with ventral pleats extended and mouth full of food and water. Absolutely fantastic tour.
Tour at 10:00
We sailed out in beautiful weather conditions, mirror flat sea, blue sky and the sun shining. After visiting the puffin Island Akurey, we found a group of Harbour Porpoises that we saw 3 times throughout the tour. When they disappeared, we spotted a Minke Whale. This minke came very close to the boat and surfaced around us for a long time, always coming up with his pointed snout first. He was actively lunge feeding on the surface and all of a sudden we saw a circle of bubbles on the sea. This was a smart whale because he was using the so called bubble net feeding technique. So he trapped the fish inside a net or a circle of bubbles and then went inside the bubbles and ate the fish. He came up with a big splash just few meters from the boat and we could see the whole body, the fluke and a mouth full of sand eel emerging gracefully on the surface. It was an amazing sight that passengers and the crew will remember for the rest of their life.
Tour at 9:00
Best whale watching weather, flat calm sea, sunny and not so many clouds. We started the tour at Akurey and saw many Puffins but i think most were out offshore enjoying the good weather. It took us about 40-50 minutes before we came to were the Minkes were. On the way we spotted a small pod of Harbour Porpoises which was really nice because we haven’t seen them for a long time. Once we got to where the Minkes were we could see many flocks of birds which was a good sign (a lot of fish in the area). Flocks of Gulls, Gannets (so many Gannets hasn't been this many since last summer), Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Skuas, Arctic Terns, Puffins and Guillemots and their young. There were two Minke Whales we had great encounters with during the tour but there were more around. Surfacing very close to our boat. On the way back to the coast we saw two small pods of Harbour Porpoises. Great tour.