Wednesday, 9 August 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00  and 19:00 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
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

Report from Eldey: we had a lovely morning spotting the cetaceans today! The sun was shining, the sky was clear, the sea conditions were amazing and the visibility was incredible. To make everything even better, our encounters with the animals were sublime. Our first species was a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins, that were super fast, but came to our direction and passed by us to continue their way. So we also continued ours, but at the same area, we spotted a minke whale next to us! After this one, 2 more came up in different spots and directions. Some popped up quite close on our front, and we could take a good look at them. Then, another minke, one that we call Humpie because of the funny dorsal fin, appeared a couple of times, and in total we had 4 minkes in that area! Another pod of dolphins showed up, 5 individuals that started bowriding and jumping next to us. They were super playful and enjoyed this day as much as we did. On the way back to Reykjavik, we admired the beautiful Faxaflói landscape, while we felt the sun burning our faces.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Hafsulan: We could not have asked for better conditions with mirror like sea. Our first encounter happened really early on before we entered Faxafloi bay, 1 harbour porpoise surfaced 3 times before we lost sight of it as we headed out further to the bay to a location where minke whales had been seen. Close to that area we came upon pod of 5 white beaked dolphins which seemed to be traveling so we followed them for awhile until we noticed a blow from a minke whale. The bird life increased in that area and soon we spotted few minke whales. In total there were 5-7 of them in that spot, likely feeding. After enjoying those encounters we started our journey back to Reykjavik and on our way we came upon another pod 5-6 white beaked dolphins that came quite close to the boat so everyone got great view of these beautiful animals.

- Kristin
 

Report from Eldey: We sailed out in a relatively calm sea with only low wind and low swell. Luckily even the sun was shining. We went to the area where we went in the morning. We saw several different bird species including spectacular northern gannets that were all feeding. That was a good sign for us that there was a lot of fish around. We looked all around us and soon spotted our first minke whale. Within that region we saw 5 different individuals the succesfully idnetified individual named "Humpie". Humpie has a very characteristic dorsal fin and can easily be recognised. When we ran out of time and were heading back ton Reykjavik we encountered a pod of white beaked dolphins just outside the harbour.

- Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Hafsulan: Clear skies and sunshine early on as we set sail out from Reykjavik. The wind had picked up some compared to previous tours but the sun kept us warm. We didn't have to sail far before we saw our first cetacean in the bay. A pod of 5 white beaked dolphins appeared close to us. They were a bit tricky to follow but we occasionally came really close. Later on we saw another pod and in the same area 4 minke whale individuals popped up in different directions. Not long after 4 harbour porpoises joined us. We had a good time watching these animals on a beautiful day out in the bay. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson 

Report from Eldey: with the beginning of a beautiful sunset, we sailed out ready to spot our favorite animals. With a clear and good visibility, we could see all the landscape around us. Covering many areas, we got to one with many seabirds. The amount of birds told us we were in a good spot, full of fish. After a while, we spotted de dorsal fin of a minke whale that was very relaxed on the surface, taking its time before going for a deeper drive. We saw it one more time, this time closer to the boat. However, this individual played a true hide and seek with us, and we patiently waited for it. After a while, we decided to explore other areas, but even keeping in touch with other boats by our radio, we couldn't find anything else. And then we decided to give out complimentary tickets so the passengers enjoy these animals one more time, since we had a short encounter with a tricky minke.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Elding: This evening we sailed out onto Faxafloi with high hopes to see what the bay had on offer. The previous tour had a few short sightings but we were still eager to find some cetaceans. After about an hour of sailing we saw some big splashes on the horizon and went for a closer look. As we approached we saw it was a pod of 8 -10 white beaked dolphins. Its always hard to interpret their behaviour but these looked like they were feeding as well as playing. They came extremely close to the boat and were bow-riding for a while as well and jumping all around us. Even doing complete turns in the air. It was a fantastic encounter and when time was up we headed back to Reykjavik, this time with the gorgeous sunset behind us.

- Anna Richter

Artic tern, Northern fulmar, Northern gannet, Altantic puffin, herring gull, lesser and great black backed gull, razorbill, black legged kittiwake, common guillemot, sooty and manx shearwater