✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 20:30
Report from Elding: The sun was hiding behind the clouds, when we started our midnight tour and we even got some rain at the beginning of the tour. Eventually the sun came out and we got to see a beautiful rainbow above the bay. Our search took us a little bit longer today, but we enjoyed the stunning views of the landscape around Faxaflói, while we kept looking for cetaceans. The first sighting was a minke whale, however, it was gone as quickly as we spotted it. We almost started our journey back to the harbour, when all of a sudden 2 white beaked dolphins appeared right next to the boat and one of them was also bow riding. They were difficult to follow at the beginning, changing directions frequently. Then we saw splashes nearby and another pod of 5-6 white beaked dolphins started jumping just in front of us, while the other dolphins kept diving beneath the boat. It was an amazing encounter! We enjoyed the company of the dolphins for a while, before heading back with some awesome views of the midnight sun lightening up Snæfellsjökull in our back.
- Diana Besel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 17:00
Report from Eldey: Winds and waves had calmed down a lot throughout the afternoon, and so we were greeted by a pleasantly calm Faxa Bay. It was quite a nice sail out into the center of the bay, as far as Akraness, but once out this far, our long journey and patience were rewarded by the sighting of a blow! It was the blow of a minke whale. As we watched it, a second appeared and with it many birds, all diving at the water and feeding on the small fish close to the surface. Absolutely brilliant when all these species come together. As we stayed in the area, we counted a total of 4 minke whales around us, some close to our boat, some further away. We spend a fair amount of time watching this show before time was running out and we had to aim our direction back to Reykjavík. With clouds breaking apart and the sun peeking through, it was a scenic sail back that hopefully everyone enjoyed.
- Miquel Pons
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 14:00
Report from Elding: We sailed out of the harbour with the gentle breeze in our faces. The sea was merciful and the boat was reliable. After an hour of sailing we encountered some white-beaked dolphins (aprox. 6). They were coming up on the surface in all directions. A few times they came close to the boat (some 15-20 m) and gave us a chance to see them in all their might. Next we saw a minke whale...a few of them actually (2-3 animals). One encounter was a really good one to have a perfect look at the animal. It came out 6 times for a breath and even though it was moving away from the boat, the first two times it came out were at a distance of 20-30m. A good tour that made a cloudy situation less cloudy in our hearts.
-Lucas Heinrich
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 13:00
Report from Eldey: Today's weather is almost making us believe summer is over. But no, no, not yet! Winds were a little chilly as they were blowing strongly from the north, but despite that the sea was not very rough. We had our first encounter with a pod of 2 white-beaked dolphins moving very fast with the waves. They were elusive but lead us right into the direction of a minke whale that was feeding on all the small capelin we could also see the birds around catching in their beaks. And again, we only got distracted from this minke by more dolphins that were making huge splashes as they were jumping!! It was so fun to see, also recognizing one of them as one of the dolphins frequently seen in the bay we have named Large Nick. They were bow-riding and surfing the waves in a pod of 6 individuals and, as before, they swam and lead us straight towards another minke whale which we had seen on previous tours. It was very comfortable around us, coming within 20 meters of our boat a couple times and letting us get a great look at it's beautiful white-banded pectoral fins. A great tour and wonderful experience for all our guests.
- Sabrina Voswinkel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 10:00
Report from Elding: Finally clouds are back in Reykjavik! The wind from the North, together with some thick clouds reminded us where we are. Lots of puffins were visiting us during the trip, making sure we didn't get bored during our whale's search. The visibility was that good that we could see Snæfellsjökull during the whole tour. One hour after leaving the harbour, some splashes appeared in the distance. We tried to look for the responsibles of them but they achieved to remain in the mistery and never showed up again. Nontheless, while trying to get to these splashes, we spotted some small blows in the distance. Crossing our fingers, we got to the area expecting the animals stayed there until we reached the place and we were lucky! A total of 4 minke whales started to surface all around the boat! 2 of them even made us a close visit and decided to appear in front of our eyes for the blessed of all the passengers! We stayed with these animals until they decided to go somewhere else and it was time for us to go back to the harbour. Just in time!
-Elena Gutiérrez Ruiz
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 09:00
Report from Eldey: An authentic icelandic wind was blowing from the north this morning. The sky was mostly cloudy but we had good moments of sun to warm us. At first, our captain was carefully sheltering staying close of the landscape. But sea conditions were actually pretty smooth so we went further out in the sea. We saw first two white beaked dolphins. It was probably a good feeding area because a few minutes later we saw a minke whale! It soon went for a deeper dive and was challenging to spot. Thus, our research coordinator saw a flock of bird and propose to go there to see if we could find another whale. Good call ! A minke whale was feeding on the same preys than the birds. We saw its white underside throught the water when it was feeding and its dark back when surfacing. With the wind in our back, the way back to the harbour was warmer and we enjoyed a good view of Reykjavik from the ocean.
-Miquel Pons
Bird species identified today: atlantic puffin, arctic tern, northern gannet, manx shearwater, artic skua, common guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, lesser black-backed gull,great black-backed gull, common gull, eider duck, northern fulmar.
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today at 9:00. We might experience some rough seas today, so if you are prone to seasickness, we have seasickness tablets free of charge. Make sure to dress warmly and make use of our warm overalls as it is always colder on sea than on land. For more information contact us by email elding@elding.is or by phone +354 519 5000
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