Whale Diary

10:00 - This morning Reykjavik woke up in a very misty and foggy day, but still with much better conditions for sailing. After some cancelations day we were mora than happy to go back to our natural environment, the sea. Rain jackets and overall on, we started sailing with a quick stop in one of the puffin colonies, Engey island. After observing the most cuties sea birds in the bay we started sailing to high seas of Faxafloi bay. With a very low visibility but high hopes we encountered our first cetacean species, a solitary minke whale. We tried to observe this individual a little bit longer but it was quite sneaky and elusive. So we continued our tour and later we arrived to an amazing area full of white beaked dolphins, a pod of 15 dolphins a bit spread out, but many times appearing close to our boats. And one of them was constantly jumping, what an amazing display! After that we moved to an another different area where a humpback whale appeared at the surface, but unfortunately the whale disappeared into the fog and we couldn't found it again.But good news arrived, other boat close to the boat spotted another humpback whale very close to the harbor...but at the end was three humpback whales, very calm at the surface and showing us their tails- a fantastic end to the tour!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Knut, Captain Anna & Guide María H, Captain Miquel & Guide Orsi

12:00 - We set out in foggy and rainy conditions, low visibility but great sea conditions. We were relying mainly on our expert judgment and network of boats in the bay to find animals. After about 15 minutes we stopped in an area where previous tours had seen whales. We were super focused, with the low visibility and the speed of the whales it would be easy to miss them. Low and behold we see two blows in the distance, two humpback whales! We approached cautiously, keeping a predictable route and matching the whales speed. We cruise with the whales for some time, hearing the incredible and powerful blows. After watching several majestic fluke dives we decided  to leave the whales be and change location. On our route we found a shy minke whale, we only saw it for a few blows before it vanished into the fog. As we headed home we met a group of about 4 white-beaked dolphins, one individual in particular stayed with us for quite some time, passing under our boat now and again. A lovely finale to a spectacular tour. 

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Matteo

14:00 - The fog did not clear up and so we went out again with mere 500 meters of visibility around us. At least the sea was calmer than before and so we enjoyed a smooth ride over the waves. Not far out we had our first sighting of the tour, a humpback whale that was traveling slowly. We managed to get a bit closer, but overall this animal spend long time under water in between breaths. Hence we went on to try our luck for something else and were rewarded with a quick minke whale that surfaced at high speed right in front of us. These shy animals tend to avoid boats, but this one was likely searching for food as it stayed in the area. After a some time with the minke, we again continued our search and found another humpback whale actively feeding on the surface. We got close enough to get a good look at him before we had to head back to the harbor. On our way we visited the puffins on, over and around the isle of Akurey. These little guys never disappoint and so we returned happy after a tour with great sightings.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Knut, Captain Anna & Guide María H

16:00 - Once again conditions remained very foggy and challenged our spotting skills. However, the rain died down a little, and at least for the first hour of our trip we remained fairly dry. We headed where we had been the tour before in search of whales, thankfully, it did not take long to find our humpback whale friends. We remained with two individuals for some time, admiring their low powerful blows and incredible fluke dives. One individual dove right next to us, we were left speechless by the size and gracefulness, and decided it was our time to switch area. We moved on for quite some time, scanning a big area, with more and more challenging conditions. The fog was rolling in ever more and we had only about 200 meters of visibility. Despite of this, we found some white-beaked dolphins, a group of about 3 individuals, which kept their distance and changed directions frequently. We decided to move on. Through the mist, we spotted a dark silhouette, just at the edge of what was visible. We slowly headed in this direction but could not see anything. Thankfully, we could rely on our hearing as a few of our passengers heard what believed to be a blow. We headed in the direction of the sound and surely enough we see the silhouette again, moving quite fast. Both myself and our Captain were unsure of the species, until the shape came into view…a FIN WHALE!! This was a young individual, not yet full size, and yet already bigger than our RIB. We kept up with this individual, trying to match its effortless speed. Such grace, such power and such beauty, we felt incredibly grateful for being able to witness this. We headed home with the biggest similes and deepest appreciation for our oceans. 

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Matteo

20:00 - We headed out in to a misty bay with heavy drizzle and poor visibility. But the sea was calm with a big rolling swell and only a light breeze. Soon one of our lovely guests spotted a tail so we stopped to look and were rewarded with a humpback whale. We saw the animal dive several times getting great views of its tail fluke thanks to Emily's fantastic driving. Then it surprised us with a breach! We watched it for a bit more but it was starting to become a bit elusive so we decided to carry on. As we were driving we saw another huge splash ahead of us - this time a minke whale breached! Which is very rare, and to see two breaches from two different species was very special. We saw the minke a few more times before we had to head home. There were plenty of birds out on the water this evening and lots of food. Even the visibility improved. What a great tour! 

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Rachel