Thursday, 21 April 2022

Report from the Ribs: The conditions were much better than forecasted, with flat seas within Faxafloi all day. The tour was incredible from start to finish with all four species seen within the two hours. Harbour porpoises kicked the proceedings off, briefly seen swimming quickly and then vanishing silently out of sight. We headed to our main area and had a close encounter with a trio of white-beaked dolphins. The dolphins swam right alongside our RIB, happy to move on our course for a few minutes. Once other boats knew of the dolphins whereabouts we went to search for whales and found a pair of humpbacks who lazily rolled at the surface exposing their large bulk from all angles. On one occasion one of the whales performed a small lunge feed, its mouth wide as it rose from the water and then slammed shut. During our time with the humpbacks, a couple of lone minke whales quietly moved nearby. 

- Mike Smith

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00 and 14:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00 and 13:00 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
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00

COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised.

Report from Eldey What an extraordinary day. We sailed through sunshine, very soft swell and we enjoyed fantastic views from the bay. We had a great sailing experience. It took us a while to reach the area where the activity was but once we got there, everything started to happen. We found 2 pods of harbour porpoises about 2 individuals each and about 7 minke whales and 3 humpback whales! One of the humpbacks was our known and beloved Neila, it was the star of our show, sometimes giving us very close surfaces and it even showed us its beautiful fluke, characteristic fluke with a drawing of googles in it. The animals were swimming pretty relaxed and peaceful this morning, and we had an amazing start of the summer, can´t wait to get back on the sea and see who and what is around.

- Estel Sanchez Cami
 

Report from Thruma II: This morning was wonderful with a lot of sun and only a few clouds, not a lot of wind and a very calm sea. We drove into the bay smoothly lifted by a long swell.  After a few minutes we stopped in an area with manby birds in the water when we saw a group of 2-4 harbour porpoises, in the same area we found 2 other small pods of porpoises quickly surfacing. We continued and found 2 humpback whales in an area with many northern gannet plunge-diving. One went to the south and the other to the north. We followed the one going to the north and saw many times its beautiful fluke dive. It was the same whale seen in previous tours near Akranes with many white marks on the dorsal fin.  When it showed its fluke we could observe deep notches. We followed it until an area where many guillemots, razorbill were in the water. There was also a minke whale in this area. There was another boat so we decided to go see if we could find the other humpback but we actually found another minke whale that we saw surfacing a few times. We went back and stopped at Akurey to observe the many Atlantic puffins in the water. There was already plenty of puffins on the island, where they breed during summer. A great morning !

- Miquel Pons

Report from Eldey: This first day of summer was truly a celebration, filled with incredible sightings. The wind had picked up a little bit compared to the morning, but the conditions were still very good. The first sighting was of a humpback whale: we saw the high blow from a far distance. This whale was diving consistently 5 minutes before surfacing a few times and showing us the beautiful fluke. After some time we left this humpback to explore what else was in the bay and we soon found a pod of 4-5 white-beaked dolphins. The white patches of their bodies were easily visible as they inspected our boat and came very close to us😊 Next, we sailed even further where the bay had yet another surprise in store for us: 2 humpback whales (Mariupol and Hook) socialising together! This sighting was exceptional, with the humpbacks rolling, showing us their belly and long pectoral fins. We also quickly caught a glimpse of a minke whale who was in the same area, but particularly the humpback whale encounter is one that we will not easily forget - what a great way to start the summer!

- Eline van Aalderink

Northern fulmar, eider duck, long-tailed duck, razorbill, common guillemot, black guillemot, atlantic puffin, northern gannet, herring gull, icelandic gull, arctic skua.