Whale Diary

10:00 - This morning we sailed out onto the bay with beautiful blue skies and just a slight breeze. Not very far away from the harbor, we spotted our first cetacean, a shy harbor porpoise. It didn't want to be seen much so we move forward to look for something else. We arrived to an area with a pod of 5 white beaked dolphins that even bow rode with us for a while, and two minke whales surfacing every now and then in the distance. After spending some time with them we continued moving to look for something bigger. We found it a pair of humpback whales right next to each other. They showed us their beautiful flukes every time they went for a deeper dive and they even came right next to the boat to check us out. Sadly, we were running out of time and we had to go back to port. 

Crew: Captain Óðinn & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide Orsi, Captain Kylie & Guide Guillermo

12:00 - The weather could not be much better than for this tour. A slight breeze from the south, no wind chop and a bit of swell. After a quick visit to the puffins on Akurey we went out for some time as we spotted a well known shape on the surface. A minke whale was traveling fast and as we got closer and turned off the engines, it surfaced not more than five meters from our boat. But not enough, a second minke came up just on the other side of our boat and allowed for a good look at his white pectoral fins and slender figure. As minkies tend to be, they disappeared quickly and so we went on to continue after this great start. Jut a few minutes later we spotted the fins of white-beaked dolphins on the surface. It was a pod of at least 15 individuals that we counted as they surfaced almost all at once. Unfortunately the dolphins were not in the mood to stay around and so we went on further out. It turned out to be the right discission. We found a pair of humpback whales that got quite interested in our boat and got really close. Slowly swimming next to and under our boat, rolling on the surface and spy hopping just two meters from our boat, they gave us the best opportunities to enjoy all of their grace and size. An unforgettable tour!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Knut

14:00 - Our tour was accompanied by good weather, as the sun had slightly come out from the clouds, painting part of the ocean with a small, but beautiful glare. As we ventured out of the harbour, we headed far into the bay, to a location where we had seen whales, only a couple hours before. However, we had to slow down, as we were surprised by a minke whale, less than 300 meters ahead of us. This was followed by a second, even larger minke whale, which approached our boat. We then continued our search and, soon enough, arrived to an area where 2 large humpback whales were resting, calmly floating (or, "logging") on the water surface. We spent a nice moment with these peaceful giants, before leaving them, as one of our captains had spotted a new species over the horizon. As we approached them, they turned out to be a pod of around 20 white-beaked dolphins, many of which were energetically breaching. If this wasn't great enough, our captain then saw 2 humpback whales who were also breaching, although 3 kilometers away. However, by the time we arrived to their location, they had already stopped. We soon headed back home, but not before heading to the puffin colony in Akurey island.

Crew: Captain Óðinn & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide Orsi

15:00 - The wind had picked up a bit since our last tour, but still the conditions were great. We went out far to find a pair of humpback whales. They were traveling slowly and allowed us to get a good look at their size as they rolled on the surface and performed some fluke dives. We spend some time with them before we went back to visit the puffins around Akurey. The little guys are getting ready to leave the islands that they spend the breeding season on. We got a good look at the puffins diving for little fish and trying to evade the skuas that were out to steal their hard earned food. We returned to Reykjavik happy after a great tour.

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Knut

19:00 - The wind died off almost completely and so we went out on a sea as flat as glass. We sailed towards the setting sun as we spotted the silver blows of whales on the horizon. We got close to them and it turned out to be 2 humpback whales traveling slowly.  In the calm and clear water we got a good look at them as they surfaced next to our boat and showed graceful fluke dives. We stayed with them until we spotted more blows further out. It turned out to be several minke whales that all were traveling fast. It was amazing as we managed to get close and at one point were basically surrounded by at least 5 minke whales that surfaced all around us. We returned with the setting sun in our back and a great view of the sun lit city of Reykjavik in front of us. What an ending to a beautiful day!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Knut