Tour at 13:00
Report from Hafsúlan: having seen four humpback whales in the morning, and with the sea conditions being close to being as good as they could get, it was with great excitement that we left for the afternoon tour and headed straight west. As we came around the Reykjanestá and saw the massive sea rock known to locals as 'Karlinn' ('The Man') we noticed that the gannet feeding frenzy that had led us on the trail of the first humpback whale had anything but passed. Hundreds, if not several thousand, northern gannets were diving down on group and individual basis here and there and amidst the group closest to the rock we saw a blow. A humpback whale was feeding there and what a pleasure it was; the excitement among the passengers was almost tangible. We had an enjoyable time with this animal, following it from a respectable distance as it made its shallow feeding dives here and there in the region of the massive rock. Then we went a bit further out to check out a second humpback whale doing the same and then went back home but not without looking at the third whale, whose blow appeared right in front of us several hundred meters away whilst we were enroute home. Incredible experience, incredible snow-covered landscape, clear sunny sky, calm animals. It was like heaven today!
- Baldur Thorvaldsson
Tour at 09:00
Report from Hafsúlan: we started the tour in Sandgerði but decided to either return there or end in Grindavik, it would depend on the sea conditions as well as where we would find something to watch. We left the harbour and to the west but then turned south, sailing through the grounds where we had the humpbacks yesterday as well as the orcas. However, nothing turned up until we had descended down the coastline towards Reykjanestá (the most south-western point of the Reykjanes Peninsula) where we saw great numbers of birds feeding and amongst them a splash too big to be the result of a diving gannet. We had found our first humpback whale! It was feeding calmly, making many shallow dives for fish but showed at no time its fluke, which means identifying it will not be easy as these animals can be recognized by the pattern on the underside of the fluke. Anyhow, finding it was most important and it was only because we were running out of time that we had to leave towards Grindavik and could spare only very little time with the remaining 3 humpback whales that we came across enroute to harbour in Grindavik on this tour.
- Baldur Thorvaldsson
Birds seen on today's tour: northern gannet (thousands!), greater black-backed gull, glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, razorbill, common guillemot, eider duck.