09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00, 20:30: RUNNING
Tour at 20:30
Report from Elding: The tour started with overcast sky, so it was quite quickly clear that today we would not see the sunset. Anyways our main priority were the cetaceans. We sailed out with the wind in our face and some light rain once in a while. We encountered lots of atlantic puffins on our way. As we were already very far out we spotted a blow and quickly after a minke whale surfaced quite close to the boat, we could see it 2 more times but then decided to join our colleagues who have found a pod of white-beaked dolphins, as they are always fun to watch! They did not disappoint, probably 8-10 individuals were traveling together and at one moment got a bit more curious and came in really close! On our way back we saw the one and other harbour porpoise, but they were really elusive and therefore hard to spot.
- Sarah Kompatscher
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: We sailed out from Reykjavik, in calm sea. Throughout the tour we had a little rain now and a then, but nothing out of the ordinary for this summer. There was quite a lot of harbor porpoises around when we were sailing out in Faxafloi, and with the calm sea it was easy to see them. We saw 2-3 minke whales in total, but they were very elusive on this trip, so they kept us on our toes. Looking to see a minke whale again, that was seen around 50 meters from the boat we saw a flock of birds in the horizon. We decided to go there, as it seemed there was a lot of activity. And we were right! When we approached the flock of birds feeding, we saw there was minke whales in the area and dolphins. The white beaked dolphins stole the show, as there were 10-15 of them feeding. They swam close to the boat and we could stay and enjoy this sight for some time. The dolphins were definatly the stars of the trip.
- Mia Rasmussen
Tour at 14:00
Report from Hafsulan: And we sailed out again in on mirror flat sea, overcast sky and some light rain once in a while. Quite soon we saw the first harbour porpoises. Normally they are very elusive but with this calm sea we could spot them everywhere throwout the tour, probably a 30 individuals in total. Just incredible to finally be able to observe this little animals! At a flock of very active seabirds we met our first minke whale being quite active in its feeding behaviour. Later on we saw another 3 animals in a closer area and on our way back to the harbour one popped up out of nowhere just 30m next to our boat!
- Sarah Kompatscher
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: This tour was another example that hard work pays off in whale watching. In the first hour and a half of the tour we saw only a few minke whales very briefly. They seemed to be in a rush and not willing to get close to us. Luckily enough, at the later hour we managed to have excellent sightings of several minke whales from not so far away. We even managed to take a really good look at the "banged up" dorsal fin of the animal. With this, we will for sure manage to photo identify the whale. As a cherry on top we also saw 3 white beaked dolphins before we had to turn the ship back in the direction of the harbour.
- Lucas Heinrich
Tour at 10:00
Report from Elding: An easy mornin out there, no sun sure, but no rain either, and calm conditions! It made our encounter with the 10-12 white-beaked dolphins we spotted calm and cheerful! As the pod was cooperative, we lingered around with them, until we bagn to hunt for pictures again, and eventually quickly met a minke whale. Relaxed sailing and cetaceans, that's a win for us!
- Guillaume Calcagni
Tour at 9:00
Report from Eldey: It was a smooth ride as we ride with favorable winds and a small swell. The tour itself was also quite rewarding as we started by spotting a shy minke whale that we could observe a few times but which turned out to be difficult to keep track of. However, soon after we spotted another of the same species that proved to be much more cooperative and we could enjoy it for a great deal of time. And at some time we realized that we could be in the presence of not just one, but 2 minke whales at the same time! Through the tour it was also possible to take a quick glimpse of 4 or 5 elusive harbor porpoises. Another great morning out at sea!
- Ines Cunha
Bird species seen on today's tours: atlantic puffin, northern fulmar, arctic tern, common guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, manx shearwater, eider duck, northern gannet, black guillemot, black-backed gull
We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today. Sea conditions are are favorable but there could always be some movement on the boat and we do have free seasickness tablets at the office. Hope you are able to join us on our search for these magnificent animals in their natural environment.
- Image
- Image
