Whale Diary

12:00 - After a cancelled morning tour we were a little bit hesitant that the conditions would be good, but we were so wrong. It was actually really nice out there. The ocean looked like velvet and there were long rolling waves. The sun was shining on us too. On the way out we were greeted by so many harbour porpoises. First we found a pod of four, then a pod of three and then another one with three. We could also see more individuals in the distance. They were so curious, coming right next to the boat, and our captain could even spot one hrough the water. That is very rare for this usually shy species! We later made a quick stop for a minke whale but it was hard to spot it for the passengers. We later on saw a blow and found a humpback whale. It was quite a diver, so when we spotted another blow in the distance we decided to head there. We witnessed it do some gorgeous fluke dives. All of a sudden there are two more humpback whales showed up behind us. They did something very beautiful - a completely synchronized fluke dive. It was really impressive. Eventually the first humpback whale and the second one seem to join these two, so they became a group of four. They all surfaced closely together and gave gorgeous flukes left and right. There was barely any wind out today so we could hear the loud trumpets so well. There was even a fifth individual fluking in the distance. The journey carried on and we found a pod of around 7 white-beaked dolphins. Since the ocean was so flat we could see them in detail through the surface which was amazing. At one point all seven of them came towards the boat and went underneath us, looking at us from below. They came up closely all around the boat. What an incredible tour we had today with four out of four of our most commonly seen species!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida, Captain Kylie & Guide Hannah

15:00 - Later that day, we went out again. Conditions were quite similar still, but the swell was a bit shorter, which gave a fun rollercoaster feeling at sea. First, we found so many harbour porpoises again. They were all over the place, likely at least 20. They were zooming all around and swimming past the boat, which is incredibly exciting for a shy species like the harbour porpoise. Then, we checked some corners for dolphins, but there was none to be found. We came across some seabirds including the Northern fulmar. We gave up on dolphins and started searching for something else. Both of our boats joined in an area where we found some humpback whales. It was three of them! All in one place! Very cool! They were swimming right next to one another. They were initiating their dives in near synchronicity. Absolutely breath-taking. We got to spend a good amount of time with these lovely wild animals, but then it was time to return to port. We started heading back and passed by some harbour porpoises once more before turning into port.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida, Captain Kylie & Guide Hannah