Tour at 20:30
Report from Elding: Sailing out we had the calmest sea conditions! While mostly cloudy, the sun was out at times and close to setting, which made beautiful lights on the water surface and surrounding landscape. While we were sailing through our main sighting area, we spotted a minke whale close to the RIBs of Whale Safari. As we got closer we saw it a few times, but not for very long. Instead we spotted a breaching humpback whale on the horizon and quickly made our way towards the humpback. Unfortunately the humpback did not continue this behaviour and we did not see it again. On our way further through our sighting area we spotted two minkes about 200m appart, but once again, these guys were fairly elusive and were not seen again. On our way further back into the bay we were lucky to spot another minke. This sighting turned out to be absolutely incredible as this guy stayed around the whale watching boats for at least half an hour. Once it popped up right next to the boat and we could see its entire body underneath the water surface! As it was moving in between the three whale watching vessels that were our at the time, it seemed very inquisitive and was even spyhopping at times next to the boats. This was an absolutely fantastic trip and we enjoyed the way back with some live music from our amaizing Bjatni!
- Friedrich Rittner
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: We could say that our evening trip was almost like a copy of the previous one, with one major difference - there was no rain! Sea conditions were perfect for sailing, sky overcast but with soften, evening light going through clouds. Being on the water was very relaxing. In this nice atmosphere we encountered our first minke whale. This cetacean was elusive and we saw it only once surfacing next to our boat. We decided not to waste time with this one and it didn't take so long till we found an area full of minke whales feeding. It was impossible to predict where and when they were going to surface but it was also hard to tell how many minkes were around us! Whales were popping up in different places, some closer, some further - we needed all of our passengers to be involved in spotting them. Thanks to this great team working all of us could enjoy this beautiful wildlife show. Nature like to surprise us again and again, and when we though that we had seen everything for today, suddenly on our way back we encountered two white-beaked dolphins. This couple was traveling slowly, seemed to be relaxed, enjoying midnight sun. Just like a perfect dot at the end of great day!
-Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan
Tour at 14:00
Report from Elding: While it was mostly cloudy, sea conditions were fantastic! Even though we had good condition as well as good visibility, it took us a while before we spotted a minke whale. Unfortunately, this minke was not showing too much of himself as we could not spot this individual again after only two surfaces. This seemed to be the story of the day, as we spotted a few more minkes, however they never came close to the boat and didn´t hang around for too long. Luckily the harbour porpoises that we spotted came pretty close to the boat and this pod of about 3 harbour porpoises stayed with us for a short while and most passengers got to see them. At some point we had to make our way back and we did wait for some minkes we spotted here and there, but they did not show much of themselves today. Regardless, it is not often that we get such good conditions on the water and it was an enjoyable cruise.
- Friedrich Rittner
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: A light rain was our welcoming for the afternoon trip, but as soon as we left the harbour behind conditions improved. We were sailing in calm waters, enjoying our trip around Faxafloi when we saw some splashes and blows in the distance. Once we got closer for a better look we discovered a minke whale. It was lunge feeding and traveling around for a while. But even though minkes are characterized by its solitary behavior, we could check that the area in where we were was extremely rich and productive as far as we saw few minkes popping up here and there from time to time. At certain moments, they were literally everywhere, what a fantastic moment! But minkes weren't alone, some harbour porpoises decided that it was a good time to join the party, so did they. After a while enjoying this animals, we headed to Reykjavik, not before spotting some friendly harbour porpoises on the way, and there some mist and light rain were waiting for us. Definitely, it was a wonderful afternoon out in the sea.
-Ewa Malinowska
Tour at 10:00
Report from Elding: Perfect conditions there where today! Dry, almost no wind and a bit cloudy. It took a bit of time before spotting our first cetaceans but when we saw them there where about 3-4 minke whale! They where a around the boat, we just didn´t know where to look. And while watching the minke whales some harbour porpoises popped up around the boat. I´m sure some people got pictures of two cetaceans in one picture, amazing.
- Alexandra Bouman
Tour at 09:00
Report from Eldey: This morning was a bit colder comparing to previous days, but we are always happy when the sky is overcast - cloud reflections in the water made sea grayish and it's much easier for us to spot cetaceans. Before we could find any whales, we were surrounded by puffins and their cousins Guillemots. It's always good to remember that in Faxafoi we have more wildlife to enjoy than just cetaceans. It took us a while of searching and waiting to find a minke whale, but we did it. Minke probably was feeding on the bottom because it was surfacing in a way that was hard to predict and follow. We were doing our best looking around and even smelling for our stinky minkes, but only few of our passengers were lucky to take a good luck. Once we decided to come back Reykjavik, we offered complimentary tickets to all our passengers, so everybody can take a second chance to see whales in Iceland.
-Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan
Bird species seen on todays tours: arctic tern, arctic skua, common guillemot, atlantic puffin, manx shearwater, northern fulmar, kittiwake, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull common gull, eider duck
Status: RUNNING
We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today. There is little wind coming from the North West and cloudy but let´s hope for the sun to join us today.
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