WEDNESDAY, 3 JULY 2019

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 20:30

Report from Elding: After a really wet day, the weather gave us a break. The wind was calmed and the sea looked quite flat, without white caps on the surface. We could just felt the hangover of the sea. A big swell accompanied us the whole trip, lifting us and taking us down softly. It took us a while to find the first minke whale, that luckily, wasn't alone. 2 minke whales were sharing the same feeding area while we were around. We could even appreciated the difference in size between the two individuals, one adult and one small juvenile. They surfaced a few times until they misteriously disappeared from our sight. Such a pity, but it is how wildlife works sometimes. We were sailing around the area giving some extra time to the minkes, when two smaller dorsal fins surprised us really close! They were gone for a while until we were able to find the owners! A really big pod of, at least, 15 white-beaked dolphins delighted us with their amazing colour pattern and the presence of a cute baby dolphin with them! Such a nice way to end the day!

-Elena Gutiérrez Ruiz

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 17:00

Report from Eldey: The sun finally came out this evening, seas were really calm and winds were not strong either. Heading out, enjoying the lovely weather and looking at the beautiful landscape, we came across 2 pods of 7-8 white-beaked dolphins in total. These animals were very relaxed, coming rather close to the boat as well. We lost them in the sunglare and kept going further out, as we heard of other species in the area. Another pod of 5-7 white-beaked dolphins showed up on the way, so we got another good look at these animals. Suddenly a lot of birds were flying around us, atlantic puffins, northern fulmars, arctic skuas and other species. Always a good sign to have birds around and surley, only a few moments later, we saw a total of 4 minke whales surfacing around our boat at various distances. It was incredible to have so much wildlife surounding us. We were in a really good mood after that, enjoying the sunshine on the way back to the harbour.

- Diana Besel

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 14:00

Report from Hafsúlan: Winds calmed down since this morning, but the rain did not really give up. But it had lessened a lot and so by simply wearing our overalls, everyone could stay dry. We sailed into the diraction where we had left the minke whales we had seen on our previous tours and, lucky enough, they had stayed! There must be a lot of fish underneath the surface, as both minke whales were still feeding and alongside them were many northern gannets, performing their impressive diving skills with which they catch their prey. We were able to stay with the minke whales for nearly an hour, always spotting where they came up again. This is not always easy as they can change direction a lot when hunting for fish. But soon everyone on board had become whale spotters and we did some great team work. Only as time ran out did we turn around and begin our sail back to the harbour.

- Inês Cunha

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 13:00

Report from Eldey : The weather during this tour was a little bit calmer than this morning. After an hour looking for whales, we finally found a first pod of 5 white beaked dolphins. They stayed a few minutes with us and desappear of our sight. Our captain saw a blow, probably of a minke whale a few hundreds meters further but when we arrived it was gone. We were searching it when we saw a new pod of 6 white beaked dolphins ! They approached really close of the boat, passed underneath us, surfaced again at the other side. One of those cetaceans begun to jump out of the water, making splashes with its heavy body. It's probably a fishing strategy, but for us it was really fun to see !   

-Miquel Pons

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 10:00

Report from Hafsulan: We sailed out into a rainy and foggy bay this morning. Waves were coming from the south east, so they were actually pushing us for the first 45 minutes of our sail. But then we spotted 2 minke whales feeding under a flock of birds and of course slowed down, watching them coming closer and closer and passing along the front of our boat. After 5 breaths each, they went for a deep dive. They must have moved away quite far, as we did not see them again. With the rain becoming heavier, spotting did become difficult. But our experience aided us in finding a third minke whale that was one hungry whale! He surfaced over and over, lifting it's upper jaw out of the water as it pulled it's mouth open. It was awesome to watch so close to our boat. Even listening to it exhaling strongly. A great encounter that made the watch in the rain so worth it.

- Sabrina Voswinkel

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 09:00

Report from Eldey : Today´s morning tour begun under real icelandic weather. A strong wind and a light rain was refreshing us and keeping everybody well awaken. Our passengers were facing the elements like brave vikings, well protected by our stylish red overalls. We saw a lot of different and interesting birds, like big groups of manx shearwaters, the wonderful northern gannet or very cute atlantic puffins. We also saw 2 shy minke whales surfacing. But because we want our passengers to see those incredible animals better, we offered them a complementary ticket. With those tickets, our passengers can come back for free during the next two years ! We hope to see you soon ! 

-Miquel Pons

Birds seen today: atlantic puffin, northern gannet, common guillemot, brunichs guillemot, kitiwake, northern fulmar, arctic skua, cormorant, common gull, herring gull