Whale Diary

10:00 - The weather was amazing this morning, when we departed for our tour. We had a sunny sky and calm sea, and started our adventure with a visit to Akurey island, where we could spend a nice moments with the local Atlantic puffin population, who uses the island during their breeding season. After leaving Akurey, it took us a short time to spot a humpback whale. We were very happy to find out this was Davy Jones II, a very popular humpback here in the bay, who hadn't been sighted around here for more than a month. Davy Jones II's sighting was followed by a sighting of seven white-beaked dolphins, in a location a few miles further Northwest. The dolphins surfaced close to us a few times, but eventually seemed to want some space, so we left them and moved on. On the way back towards Reykjavík, we stopped to see a second humpback whale, an individual that was a bit smaller than Davy, but which had a beautiful white tail with acorn barnacles attached to it. We had to privilege to see the tail quite a few times, whenever the whale dived, and then returned to Reykjavík.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Ricardo, Captain Anna  & Guide Guillermo ,Captain Emily  & Guide Sigrún

12:00 - We set sail on a beautiful sunny day and made a quick stop by Engey to look at the Atlantic puffins before they leave Iceland! After that, we didn´t have to go far to stop cetaceans. Very soon a blow of a humpback whale appeared and as we were waiting for this one to come up, a second humpback whale came up next to the boat! These two whales circled the area, showing us their beautiful flukes before deep dives and popping up in a different direction. As we were playing this game of whale waiting, one of the whales surfaced very close to the boat and swam right towards us. It floated at the surface for a few moments next to the boat, before trumpeting once and swimming away. An amazing encounter like this does not happen every day! We went for a drive around the bay and found a minke whale, who treated us to a few surfacing´s before time forced us back. Passing the humpback whales again, we caught a last glimpse of these gentle giants and then we headed home, enjoying the sun. 

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Janiek

14:00 - This afternoon, we left the harbour in the best possible weather conditions: the sun was shining, the wind was just a light breeze, and the ocean had very calm, small swells. We were taking a look at the last puffins of the season when a group of 3 harbour porpoises came to check us out. This is something that doesn't happen every day, and we were very surprised by this close encounter with these elusive animals. We continued our tour, sailing out onto the bay. It only took us a few minutes to spot a blow in the distance, quite close to the shore. It was a humpback whale! This whale was quite active and surfaced very often close to the boat, so we could all enjoy the view of this amazing animal against the mountains in the background. After watching some beautiful fluke dives, we decided to keep moving and look for something else. We sailed a little further and spotted another whale, this time a minke whale. These whales are generally quite shy, but this individual surfaced frequently and relatively close to the boat. Finally, we headed back to the harbour, enjoying the sunshine, the calm ocean, and the beautiful landscape.

Crew: Captain  Anna& Guide Guillermo

16:00 - The sun was still shining and we were excited to go out! We stopped by the island of Engey to see the last of the puffins, when we spotted a blow close to the island! It turned out to be a humpback whale very close to land. This does not happen very often so it was extra special. This whale was feeding, coming up and diving again immediately. We got a few good looks, before this animal surfaced further and further away, so we decided to leave it with its afternoon snack. We did a large loop in the bay, enjoying the sun and the beautiful landscape. There were lots of birds all around, but unfortunately no whales or dolphins, so we circled back to where we saw the whale at first. This whale was still feeding and came up right in front of the boat! Absolutely amazing to see this huge animal so close. After this exciting encounter, we stopped by Engey again for a proper look at the puffins, before heading home.  

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Janiek

20:00 - The sun was hanging low in the sky and casting pink and yellow hues as we left port. As we sailed out we first stopped and admired our beautiful Atlantic puffins. As we were looking at Lundi, we noticed the blow of one humpback whale. This individual was a very focused feeder and so we were able to see their fluke as they dove down below the surface. We also saw the blow of a second humpback whale and went to check them out. This individual was lunge feeding and it was exciting so wee them suddenly emerge from below the surface! They even popped up right next to us!! After an exciting encounter we headed out into the bay. In the bay we found a pair of humpback whales feeding together as well as a pod of 10 white-beaked dolphins! This pod had some very active calves that were launching themselves out of the water! As we admired the humpbacks and dolphins we noticed about 4 more solitary humpbacks at various distances around us! It was a special moment of continuous viewing as there was so much action happening in the bay! After a wonderful sighting we set sail back to port full of new memories. What a great way to end the day!

Crew: Captain Raggi & Guide Sigrún, Captain Pedro & Guide Janiek, Captain Emily & Guide Sam