Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 14:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 17:00 Classic Whale Watching tours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land 

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised.

Report from Eldey: Today we had a cloudy morning, but with amazing sea conditions, perfect to spot everything we could. After a while searching for them, we saw a blow in the distance. And another one in a different direction. And then a black back in another spot. It seemed like we were surrounded by at least 4 humpback whales. There were so many whales around us that we literally didn't know where to look at. Some of them appeared very close to the boat, and we could observe them going for dives in order to search for food. In fact, they were not the only ones that were feeding. Many species of seabirds, such as arctic terns, northern fulmars and Atlantic puffins were around the whales, indicating that we were in a very productive area, full of fishes. So we actually could track the whales by the amount of birds flying over them. Not too far from it, we saw a group of 7 white-beaked dolphins joining this area. They were a bit elusive because of the number of boats around, but they still came closer to our vessel a few times. After these spectacular sightings, we also spotted 3 harbour porpoises next to Reykjavik to finish our trip. Quite a busy morning with so many active species around us :)

- Milla Brandao

Report from Hafsúlan: The day started off great with very calm weather and practically no wind. After a short while we saw a humpback whale breaching in the distance. As we made our way to the whale we briefly saw a small pod of harbour porpoises very close to our boat. When we reached our whale it was doing tail slaps and also happily slapping its pectoral fins while on the back. We had a great time but decided to set off after a while to search for some more whales and other species and indeed we also encountered a pod of 6-7 white beaked dolphins. After spotting these cute fellows we saw another humpback whale that breached right in front of the boat and came very close. Then we spotted 3 more in the distance. The tour was amazing and on the way back we actually spotted another humpback whale for the 6th time. The passengers and crew were very happy!

- Cindy Schwenk

Report from Eldey: This afternoon we left the rainy harbour but soon found that the further out we went the less rain. We sailed about 40min before seeing a blow in the distance! A humpback whale! There were three humpback whales in this area, and more further out. We followed the pair, which was very calm and just as we decided to leave, both breached! We waited a little longer and one of them turned on its back. As we left them, they both waved us good-bye with their flukes. Shortly after we found another pair! This time a mother and a calf. They were very calm and curious coming quite close to the boat. Time ran out and we made our way back to harbour.

- Anna Richter

Report from Elding: He was a brave Australian in a puffin hat chasing answers. They were 4 humpback whales with a dark past. It was only inevitable that they would find each other... He assembled a ragtag team and together they began a chain of events that led to the first whale. This humpback whale shocked them all by performing maneuvers with its pectoral fin and the team needed help to understand their tactics. But he was a veteran, and trained them, answering all their questions, and together they managed to shoot the whale so many times their SD cards were almost full. The team was much more equipped for the second whale, so equipped that after a few dives and fluke ups we had already won the encounter. Then the team saw something on the horizon, it was the boss and his minion. They were breaching in front of them, taunting them from a distance. But he was determined, and his team were out for bloo- I mean photos. So they took the challenge and approached, reloading their SD cards, and the great battle commenced. For every breach and splash, there was a camera shot taken. The team was on the ropes, but held out. The breaching was not effective and drained their energy, the whales were on the back foot and eventually gave out, resorting to shallow dives. The team had done it, what everyone thought was impossible. The two whales dove out of sight and the Australian and his ragtag group travelled back to port in triumph, drinking hot drinks to toast their victory. Coming to a Faxafloi bay near you.

- Liam van Walsum

Report from Eldey: Even though we had an amazing day already, with many sightings during the earlier tours of the day,  I started to think that maybe we weren't so luck as we thought we would be. After traveling for about an hour, I thought the whales had already gone to another place. Nah! Again, there they were, playing tricks on us on where to look at! There was at least 4 humpback whales around us, and we were trying to follow at least 2 that were quite close to each other. The way we were looking at them felt like a tennis match, in which when one of them was coming up, the other was diving and vice versa. Also, when one was waving its pectoral fin, bam: the other one, closer to the boat, did an almost full breach! The passengers and I couldn't hold our excitement. The bay was so full of life today and it was amazing to see the happy and satisfied faces of our passengers and crew. A day to remember, for sure.

- Milla Brandao