Whale Diary

10:00 - Conditions were incredible this morning, sunny skies with some patchy clouds and flat flat seas. After paying a visit to our puffin colleagues on Engey island we set sailed out into the bay in search of cetaceans. We hardly started speeding up when a pod of about 5 harbour porpoises showed up near the boat, it was incredible to see the smallest cetacean of the bay, which is usually so shy. We then cruised for about 20 minutes before reaching an area where other boats had signaled some wildlife. As soon as we start to slow down we are met with a blow and a group of fins right in front of us. Then they came closer, a group of white-beaked dolphins, maybe 6-7 individuals around us, and one particularly curious dolphin which came super close and swam under the boat. They left us, leaping in the distance, and then came the blow again. This time we could clearly see, 2 humpback whales, moving together! They were moving just under the surface and coming up irregularly, before diving again, sometimes showing their fluke, other times only teasing us with a back arch. We moved to another area and found 2 more humpback whales moving together again. They were behaving the same way as the previous too, shallow diving quite often. They were quite relaxed and came up really close to the boat, everyone was left mesmerized by the size and big white flippers that could be seen just below the surface. Just before saying goodbye one individual lobtailed right in front of us, and subsequently lifted its fluke way high in the air, spectacular. We proceeded slowly towards the harbour, we didn't see any more whales, however, we must have been in an area with a minke whale close by, as we got a whiff of the foul smelling blow. We returned with the happiest smiles and the biggest gratitude for sharing the planet with such amazing sentient beings. 

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Matteo, Captain Emily & Guide Orsi

12:00 - This morning we had sunny skies and set sail for our adventure! After a quick stop at Engey for some close up puffins, we continued into Faxafloi! We sailed for a bit and then saw 2 blows on either side! There were 2 humpback whales in the same spot and who both fluked but then stayed down for longer than expected. This happened a third time with a third humpback whale as well! We then spotted lots of diving Northern gannets in the distance and consistent blows underneath - we decided to go investigate and we were glad we did! This humpback whale (number 4) came incredibly close to us and was feeding around us, being followed by the birds as it did. And then not far from us we spotted a 5th humpback whale - which turned out to be our local celebrity Davy Jones II! We stayed here for the rest of the tour enjoying all the commotion!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Anna

14:00 - We headed out onto the bay in the early afternoon under warm sunshine and clearing skies. The wind had picked up a bit, creating some white-caps ahead. After a quick visit to Engey to see the Atlantic puffins, we headed out deep into the bay in hopes of seeing some whales. Although it took a while, our first sighting was simply spectacular. We saw a pair of humpback whales calmly moving together, when all of a sudden one of them started breaching! This whale put on quite the show breaching 4-5 times in a row at a time, treating us to an almost 20 minute display of this impressive acrobatic behaviour this species is so famous for. Every now and then, this whale would also throw in some pectoral slaps to mix things up before quickly resuming breaching. What an incredible show! At this point, the pair this whale was traveling with had split off, and started feeding nearby, marked by the excited seabirds hovering above and swooping down each time the whale surfaced. There was a third humpback feeding in this area as well, so we decided to take a look at them. We followed this whale as it demonstrated beautiful fluke dives for us. We quickly recognized this third whale, as he is somewhat of a celebrity in this bay, known as Davy Jones II! Always suck a treat to see him! After this incredible show and getting to meet Davy, we headed back for the harbour, still awestruck from these encounters.

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Orsi

16:00 - This afternoon we set sail, ready for some ocean time! Nature is always unpredictable but that is part of the adventure and we were keen to see what ours would entail. As we headed out we had a quick mini stop at Engey to get close and personal with some puffins, after that it was time to head further out. We very quickly got to an area that was teaming with life! There was 2 humpback whales, a pod of 6 white beaked dolphins and then after closer inspection, we spotted a third humpback with its own pod of 5 white beaked dolphins! The first duo consisted partly of Davy Jones II! They were feeding and rolling and trumpeting! Each time the dolphins appeared we knew the humpbacks were close! The third humpback was doing its own thing but also feeding in the same spot. We were spotting some big splashes on the horizon and decided to head over! There were two more humpbacks and more dolphins here again! These two humpbacks were taking turns breaching! It was an absolute spectacle of a tour! We also spotted a minke whale in the midst of everything as well. We did sadly run out of time and have to head back home. 

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Anna

20:00 - With the sun casting the skies in pink and yellow hues we bundled up and set sail into the bay. First we stopped by Engey to admire our Atlantic puffins before setting our sights to our cetaceans. After a bit of a journey out in the bay we notice4d many flocks of Northern gannets plunge diving and went to check them out. The flock of birds left us wanting more, or so we thought, for as we were pulling away we spotted the back of one humpback whale! This individual was a very focused feeding and gave us many quick surface sequences before fluke diving below. We also encountered about three solitary minke whales at various distances popping up periodically throughout the encounter. After a few surface sequences with our humpback, we spotted two more blows and decided to check them out. That was when we came across a pair of humpback whales! These individual gave us really nice long surface sequences before showing off their flukes as well! This pair was traveling pretty far when they dove down so we had a few really nice surface sequences before we continued onward. To finish off our evening we came across a trio of humpback whales! These individuals surfaced right in front of us! We could follow their movements through their pectoral fins and see their bodies through the waves! They then did a dive right next to us and one of them decided to roll over before diving down below. On that highlight of the evening it was time to head back to port, so we waved our whales goodbye. What another wonderful end to a great day on the bay!

Crew: Captain Gulli & Guide Sam