Whale Diary

10:00 - We ventured to sea with good weather conditions, as the sea today was calmer than in the previous days, with smaller waves and weaker wind. We passed by the south coast of Akurey island, where we managed to see hundreds of puffins, many of which were floating in groups (known as rafts). As we left the puffins and sailed deeper into the bay, we soon spotted a humpback whale. It was calmly sleeping, so soon we left it and continued with our trip. We then found a fin whale, a rare sighting and the second largest animal species in the world. We hanged for a little bit with this wonderful animal, before leaving it be and searching for more wildlife. Our last sightings was a double one, including four humpback whales, one of which was breaching, and a pod of five to eight white-beaked dolphins, who approached us and started bow-riding our boat. Overall, an amazing tour!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo, Captain Anna & Guide Sam, Captain Reynar & Guide Rachel

12:00 - We set out into Faxafloi bay with very calm sea conditions, big long swells but barely no wind. No sun unfortunately, completely overcast, but great conditions for spotting cetaceans with really good contrast. We traveled about 7 miles out towards a spot we were informed about from other boats in the area. As soon as we started to slow down we saw blows in the distance, and not long after we saw about three whales lunge feeding at the surface, with mouths fully open. As we got closer we confirmed about 5 humpback whales in the area, accompanied by maybe 4-5 white-beaked dolphins! We stayed with these individuals for some time, as they dove and surfaced, hearing their powerful bellowing blows. We switched of the engines, it was just us and whale blows, incredible. One individual came up right next to us to everyone's shock! We could not believe how much was going on around us, and how privileged we were. We headed back towards the harbour and ran into another humpback whale heading towards the ones we had just left behind, there must have been lots of fish in the area. We slowed down just before the harbor, around the island of Akurey, to admire some wonderful puffins flying, diving, chilling, and bringing back fish to their little pufflings. Another awesome tour!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Matteo, Captain Reynar & Guide Rachel

14:00 - This afternoon we set sail and left rainy Reykjavik behind us. After a quick stop at Eldey we headed further into Faxafloi. The ocean had quite big swell but was quite a fun ride! We did have to go quite far out but were quite glad when we did! We found a spot that had 4 humpback whales! Two were together and two were separate - all of them were all over the place! One was making bubble rings and lunge feeding when it was coming up, all were changing directions constantly so they came quite close! of the duo, one was tail-slapping! It was a fantastic tour! We did eventually have to say by to these wonderful animals, sailing back towards the harbour and the grey. 

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo, Captain Anna & Guide Sam

16:00 - We set out with similar conditions as our previous tours, the wind picked up and it was raining more than before. However, this did not stop us from having an incredible tour. We headed to a previous spot, about 7 miles from the coast, we slowed down but found nothing. We set a new course and sped up again, within a few minutes we had two white-beaked dolphins coming up right next to our boat, and as we kept going we found the rest of the group. There were about 5 more individuals, of which two females with calves! We did not want to stress them to much so we set course for another hotspot. As we arrived we immediately saw there was lots of activity, birds and blows. Then we saw them more properly, about 4-5 humpback whales lunge feeding at the surface. We could hear their low powerful blows in the distance, so impressive. We followed them for a little bit and at a certain point, out of nowhere, a BREACH! and right after another individual headslapped! We were so thrilled to have been able to witness such incredible behaviours. However it was time to head back as we were very far from home. After about 25 minutes of navigation we reach Akurey, one of the puffin islands, full of our feathery friends! What an end to a spectacular tour.   

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Matteo

20:00 - What a wonderful tour! The sun finally came out and we had a rainbow as we headed to the boat. The wind was a little breezy and we opted to head straight out leaving the puffins for our return. The swell was big, beautiful, long and rolling and as we continued, the wind dropped and the sea was glassy calm. We headed straight to an area where humpback whales had been sighted earlier, it was quite far out in the bay but after a while we started seeing multiple blows on the horizon and lots of feeding birds. We had no less than five humpbacks who dived as soon as we arrived. We decided to follow the birds, seeing blows a little further away. We were treated to incredible views of lunge feeding with the beaks coming right out of the water. Some of these whales were trumpeting and there were birds everywhere. Soon some white beaked dolphins joined in the fun. There were blows all around at one stage and it was hard to know where to look. But we followed two individuals frequently feeding, with some tail slapping and plenty of flukes with the dolphins in the mix. Then we caught sight of a big splash, followed by a second breach from a humpback whale! We headed over hoping it might breach again but were treated to more fantastic feeding. As we were so far out we had to start heading back in but the views were incredible, Esja the mother of Reykjavik bathed in sunlight and looking magnificent. A quick stop at Akurey to see the mighty Atlantic puffins and then home for tea and medals. What an amazing tour with a beautiful sunset, amazing wildlife and incredible views, we are so lucky,

Crew: Captain Óðinn & Guide Rachel