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Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Tour at 20:30

Report from Elding: This evening was very good in regards to the weather, very similar to the conditions in the 5´o clock tour if not slightly milder. We began as so often before at the puffin island Akurey but unfortunately not many of them were home but we saw quite a few out at sea later on in the tour. Much the same as the earlier tour we had to sail for a bit over an hour this time searching for the whales but our patience was richly rewarded. Soon after arriving at our main whale watching area we spotted two Minke whales swimming about, most likely feeding. They surfaced all around us, making passengers run from one side of the boat to another and from the front to the back. Despite that they came quite close a lot of times and a fun time was had by all as we enjoyed these quite social and fun minkes. We then headed back, cruising with the wind at our backs as well as the midnight sun and calm seas all the way back to Reykjavik.

-Ívar Elí Sveinsson

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hasúlan: The weather this evening was very good, with the sun shining down on us and a light breeze. We began with visiting the puffins at Akurey before turning west and making for our main whale watching area. This time around we had to sail for quite a while looking for any signs of cetaceans but after about an hour of searching we spotted a large flock of feeding seabird and next to it a Minke whale! We saw it surface around us a few times and then it came close to us a couple of times and we got some really good looks at the head, blowholes and the back of the whale as it glistened in the sun. After a good tour we then headed back to Reykjavik harbor in the pleasant evening breeze.

-Ívar Elí SveinssonTour at 14:00Report from Elding: The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining as we headed out, but we could still feel the cool ocean breeze which is always refreshing. We sailed towards the area where there had been many animals for the past days and this morning but when we got there things seemed to have slowed down. We sailed slowly around until the first Minke Whale surfaced close to the boat and we got a great look at it since it came up for about 4-5 times, but unfortunatly then it was gone. We headed further out and hoped to find something more and as a lightning from a clear sky the are was full of feeding sea birds and we could see around 4-6 Minke Whales feeding around us. We got a gorgeus sighting of them and just on the end one of them surfaced only around 10 meters from the boat 2-3 times and then did the bubble net hunting behaviour, when they dive down and blow bubbles to the surface to scare the fish to a special spot. It was a perfect good bye from the Minke Whales and we were very lucky to see this amazing hunting technique !We ended our tour in Akurey, one of the Puffin Islands and watched the puffins and their activity around their home.What a great tour in a good icelandic summer weather! - Freydís Ósk Hjörvarsdóttir

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: We visited the Puffin Island first but unfortunately there were almost no Puffins home, probably fishing offshore or in their burrows so we headed straight out into Faxa Bay. We were sailing for about 30 minutes before we saw the first pod of White Beaked Dolphins approximately 10 individuals. They were rather elusive and kept on heading away from us so we decided to try to find something else in the bay. It took us a long time before we spotted a Minke Whale we got a few good looks at this animal and it was very nice to see how it surfaced in the glare of the sun. Excellent weather on this tour!

-Lisa Hofmann

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: We headed out of Reykjavik with some great sunny weather and some calm seas. We stopped by Akurey (Puffin Island) and saw lots of Puffins flying around the island and sitting on the water. We then headed straight out to sea to an area where we had seen minke whales earlier today. As we approached the area we spotted some White-Beaked Dolphins. These dolphins were enjoying themselves in the sun jumping up and down and putting on a show. We got closer and they started to approach our boat, swimming underneath and coming up right on the side of the boat. The water was so clear that you could see the dolphins swimming underwater. We enjoyed these lovely creatures and then headed on our way to find some whales. It wasn't long before we found our first Minke Whale. Before we knew it we had spotted at least 5 different minke whales. We saw these whales surface several times and a few of them even came close to the boat. We headed on our way back towards the harbor and enjoyed the lovely sun and this great experience with the whales and dolphins.

-Taylor Theódór

Tour at 9:00

Report from Hafsúlan: We headed out to visit the Puffin Island Akurey first which was a good decision, there were loads of Puffins around the Island. After a few minutes we sailed out into the bay and it took us not more than 30 minutes until we spotted several Minke Whales. It was amazing, they just surfaced all around the boat at least 15 individuals in the same area. We turned off the engine and just enjoyed this moment of happiness. We started sailing on as our first maid had spotted some White Beaked Dolphins. When we arrived it was the greatest show ever, the jumped and jumped right next to the boat. This tour was a complete highlight in perfect sea conditions!!

-Lisa Hofmann