Whale Diary

10:00 - With just a little wind and the sea as flat as a duckpond we went out to find the whales. First we visited the puffins on Akurey and after a good look at these funny little guys, we went further out. As the water was so calm, it was easy to spot the first minke whale on the surface. But it was traveling fast and so we kept on searching until we got to a humpback whale that was traveling on the search for food. As there were some more boats around, we left him after a short time and went on. It just took minutes until we spotted more minke whales. There were at least 5 of them at one point all around the boat and we got the chance to compare them with another humpback whale that was actively lunge feeding and fluke diving. Since there was so much food in the area we were not surprised as we also spotted a small group of around 5 harbour porpoise in the chaos. As if that was not enough great animal already, we came across a total of 5 white-beaked dolphins on our way back to Reykjavik. Showed interest in our boat and got really close, the others kept their distance. With four of our most common species seen in one tour, this one could not have been much better. 

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Anna, Captain Emily & Guide Knut

12:00 - We headed out onto a completely flat bay under gloomy skies, pristine spotting conditions. It didn't take us long to have our first sighting, a pod of about 6 white-beaked dolphins treating us to quite a show of leaps, jumps, and even some solid evidence of mating behaviours! We stayed with this group in awe for a good while, before continuing on. Shortly after, we spotted some minke whales, surfacing and disappearing quickly in an area, when all of a sudden, one of them showed off two huge lunges at the surface! Lunging out of the water high enough for us to get a glimpse of their pink belly and rorqual folds. We then headed for an area quite literally crawling with fish, as seen from the ripples on the surface of the water. Here, we encountered 2 humpback whales feeding peacefully, giving us some wonderful fluke dives and displaying some bubble-net feeding. Satisfied, we started heading back to the harbour, stopping at Akurey to get a look at some of the Atlantic puffins still here at the end of their breeding season.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Orsolya

14:00 - An incredible afternoon we had today. We sailed out into the grey and into the unknown. It was incredibly calm and the sky melted into the sea. On the sail out we spotted 3 minke whales, some came up nice, slow and close, some a little bit further and more elusive. We then spotted a harbour porpoise which is a very small cetacean but it came up multiple times ahead of us. Then (!) in the same spot we found 6 white beaked dolphins, they did come quite close at times but we also focused on their dinner. We then spotted something larger so went to investigate! We found another pod of dolphins as well as 3 humpback whales! These were by far the star of the show, bubble feeding extremely close to us and always coming up in unison! It was breathtaking! More often than not the dolphins would pop up, then the bubbles followed and then the three humpbacks! We stayed here for as long as we could before we had to head back home.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Anna, Captain Emily & Guide Knut

15:00 - We headed out onto a pristine bay, calm, flat, overcast, absolutely perfect for spotting cetaceans. Following a brief stop at Akurey to catch a glimpse of some of the last Atlantic puffins near the end of their breeding season, we set out into the bay, but stopped almost immediately when we spotted a curious pair of harbour porpoises. We stayed with them for a lovely couple minutes before continuing on. Not long after, we had some wonderful minke whale sightings and decided to stop for a particularly curious individual, which came rather close to us, giving us a good look at this elusive species. We soon spotted signs of some larger whales in the distance, and made our way over to that area. It was not one, but a group of 4 humpback whales bubble-net feeding together! We stayed with this wonderful group, which showed off many lunges, fluke dives, and of course, the bubble-net technique. As we headed back, we also encountered a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins! What a lovely surprise for the end of an amazing tour!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Orsolya

19:00 - We headed out onto glossy, calm seas, painted silver by the dense cloud cover above. First, we made a quick stop at Akurey, to catch a glimpse of some of the Atlantic puffins still here at the end of their breeding season, before they head out onto the open ocean for the rest of the year. As we made our way deeper into the bay, we spotted some tiny dark backs and tiny triangular dorsal fins, a group of 4 harbour porpoises! We stayed with these elusive, shy little cetaceans for a good couple minutes, before continuing on our way, what a treat to see them so up-close! The rest of our journey into the bay was also interrupted by quite a few lovely minke whales, surfacing quite close to our boat before disappearing again beneath the surface. But, we had our eyes on some very clear signs of larger whales off in the distance, a group of 5 feeding humpback whales! As we approached, it became clear they were not only lunge-feeding, but also forming beautiful spirals of bubbles very close to our boat, bubble-net feeding! The humpbacks put on quite a show, showing off some lovely fluke dives, trumpeting, coming incredibly close to our boat before diving under us! As we watched these hungry whales in awe, we noticed 3 white-beaked dolphins approaching the humpbacks! A species interaction! Leaping dolphins following the humpbacks busy forming spiral after spiral of bubbles, minke whales zooming past in the background, even some harbour porpoises amidst this feeding frenzy! Seabirds of all shapes and sizes diving all around, following the whales, the sea glimmering with the small fish everyone was there to feast on. A grand total of 4 pods of 3-4 harbour porpoises, 5-6 white-beaked dolphins, around 15 minke whales, and 6 humpback whales. An absolutely magical tour!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Orsolya