Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Tour at 19:00 

Report from Elding: It was still lovely and sunny on sailing out. Further out into the bay a minke whale was spotted surfacing 200 meters away, once closer we watched this animal surface a few times but it was being a bit shy and hard to follow. So we continued, sailing out a bit further yet another minke whale surfaced but again this individual only surfaced a few times before going on a really long dive. However, big splashes were spotted in the distance, once closer these were identified as the white-beaked dolphins which were surfacing irregularly and often changing direction but they did at times come up only 3 metres from the boat! We were able to watch these animals for sometime before they went for a very long dive. After a bit more searching a minke whale surface only 30 meters away and surfaced multiple times and actually circling the boat, so we turned our engines off and watched this wonderful animal surface. Unfortunately, as time was running out we did have to start heading back to harbour. Half way back more dolphins started leaping, spinning and jumping out of the water. It was incredible to watch as even a little calf was jumping next to its mothers side. We then continued our way back with the most wonderfully dark pink sunset behind us. 

-Tess Hudson

Tour at 17:00

Report from Eldey: For the last time this summer I headed up to the guiding box to guide my last tour. With the sun in my eyes and the wind in my hair we sat sail out in Faxafloi. The sea condition was still the same as the previous tour and again we had to sail quite far out before we spotted our first species. This time a minke whale was the first species we spotted. We could stay with this individual for a while and once it surfaced just in front of the boat. A perfect photo session for the passengers! We tried to sail further out in the bay to find more species but unfortunatelty we couldn't find any bigger animal but instead we enjoyed the prescence of northern gannets piercing through the surface as they went down into the sea to catch fish. As time was running out we had to start heading back to harbour again. All of the suddenly a pod of harbour porpoises showed up in front of the bow of the boat. They were almost jumping out of the water which made it very easy for the passengers to spot them. The porpoises disappeared quite fast so we continued the journey back to the Old harbour, this time with the wind in our backs and enjoying the sunset in the horizon. Thanks for a good tour and thanks Elding for a great summer! Now it's time for me to say goodbye and head back home to Sweden. Skepp o'hoj och ha det bra!

- Johanna Bergman

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: It was a beautiful sunny day as we made our way out into Faxafloi bay. The wind had picked up slightly from the morning tour but it was still pleasant. After searching for some time a minke whale was spotted only 300 meters away. This animal surfaced a number of times before going for a longer dive, a further two minke whales were then spotted at varying distances but these animals were being a bit elusive so we couldn´t watch them for long. Continuing our sail, a large pod of white-beaked dolphins were then spotted in the distance their wonderful tall dorsal fins sticking out of the waters surface. These wonderful animals surfaced multiple times all the way around the boat and even riding in our wake a few times leaping out of the water as they did so only 5 meters from the boat! After watching these animals surface a few time it was decided to move on and search for some other animals. A minke whale surfaced 600 meters in front of us and once closer we watched this animal surface in a beautiful sequence only 30 meters from the boat. As time was slipping away from us we turned for harbour but as we did so a few harbour porpoises popped up only 40 metres. We were able to watch these animals surface a few times before disappearing under the waves. So we enjoyed the beautiful Icelandic sun while sailing back to harbour.   

- Tess Hudson

Tour at 13:00

Report from Eldey: The sea condition was still very good even though the wind had picked up a little bit. We enjoyed sunny and warm weather when sailing out in Faxafloi. We had to sail quite far out, pass Akranes before we spotted our first species for the tour. A small pod of white-beaked dolphins were swimming next to us, but they were moving really fast and were elusive so it was hard to keep up with them and know which direction they were heading. We left the dolphins and continued our journey on the beautiful sea. Next stop was for a minke whale that surfaced pretty close to the boat, which made it easy for the passengers to enjoy and take pictures of one of the most common whales in the world. Unfortunately, it didn't stay with us for such a long time so we contiuned our search for cetaceans. We found white-beaked dolphins again, first a small pod of two individuals and than later on a larger pod with more dolphins. They were more playful, breaching and leaping out of the water. Really fun to see them having a good time! On our way back to the harbour we spotted harbour porpoises but they were very elusive and only surfaced 2 times before the disappeared into the big blue. Even though we didn't see much of them it was a nice ending on this enjoyful tour out at sea!

- Johanna Bergman

Tour at 10:00

Report from Eldey: It's highly possible that on our way toward Faxa Bay we somehow got lost and ended up in the Carribeans on this trip. I cannot explain otherwise how we could have such an amazing weather ! During this excursion overalls remained hanged and unused, as it was warm enough to not need them. Bright sun and flat sea made it really easy for us to spot animals, and our first finding was a pod of 7-10 white-beaked-dolphins. We could have fairly good looks at them, but eventually we decided to leave them and look for something else as many boats were joining us to sight this pod. By traveling more, we came across a relaxed minke whale, that made us the favor of surfacing predictibaly and never going too far away from us. When we spent enough time with this individual we searched once more for more cetaceans and found a small pod of harbour porpoises. As we could expect it, they didn't stay for long in our surroundings. We went quite far away, to the point that we had to start heading back and take a long way home. During our traveling toward Reykajvik, we successively saw one more minke whale, another pod of white beaked dolphins, a pod of harbour porpoises that proved to be braver than your average porpoises, two more minke whales, a last pod of harbour porpoises and again one last minke whale. There was plenty of cetaceans in the bay today, enjoying the perfect temperatures with us !

- Guillaume Calcagni

Tour at 09:00

Report from Elding: In glorious sunshine all passengers were out on top deck - which made for excellent additional help in spotting the wildlife on todays tour! What a delight to be able to bask outside in the sunshine whilst spotting the amazing wildlife in Faxa Bay! We set out on a different course for this mornings tour heading towards Mount Kelir. We spied our first marine mammal far in the distance and as we edged our way closer we were greeted with the dark back of the minke whale. This animal stayed around the boat for nearly 30 minutes - allowing us to witness it surface and dive on numerous occasions and once within less than 40 m of the boat. We could even hear the large exhale of this animal surfacing. With plenty more to see we decided to head further on and it was not long to wait before we were greeted with a large pod of white-beaked dolphins. There appeared to be over 20 individuals and we witnessed them leaping and jumping all around the boat. It was incredible to be able to watch these animals under the waters surface moving at great speed with large flashes of their white bellies. With this great encounter we headed back towards Reykjavik where we were greeted with another pod of white-beaked dolphins. These animals had tiny calves with them and remained very protective so we left these animals in peace. A fantastic tour aided by the beaming sunshine!

- Darcy Philpott

Bird species seen on today's tour include: manx shearwater, sooty shearwater, common guillemot, norther fulmar, northern gannet, arctic tern & cormorant 

Status: RUNNING

We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik today. The sun is shining and there is almost no wind. Hopefully you will be able to come join us to look for these amazing giants on a beautifull day.