Whale Diary

10:00 - We started our first tour of the morning by visiting Engey island, a bird colony located just outside of Reykjavík's old harbour. There, we could see hundreds of puffins, as well as black-legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars. As we headed away from the island, we still passed by dozens of puffins who were calmly resting on the sea surface. But now, our focus was on finding whales. It didn't take us long to find a young humpback whale, problably about 12 meters in length. The whale was calmy travelling North, and we slowly followed it, until it did a deep dive, showing us it's beautiful tail before disappearing into the ocean. We then headed West and continued searching for more whales. After a while searching, we couldn't find nothing new and started heading back to Reykjavik. However, on the way back, we spent some extra time with the humpback whale from before, and, eventually found a minke whale. We spent some time with this smaller whale, observing it as it was (also) slowly travelling North. As time ran out, we returned back home, but with this curious question: Why were both whales travelling North?

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide Sam

12:00 - After a brief stop at Engey, where we admired the Atlantic puffins, we headed out into the bay eager to spot cetaceans. The weather was a bit gloomy with overcast skies, but sea conditions were optimal for a comfortable tour, and we were very glad the drizzling rain had stopped. We soon had our first sighting, a humpback whale going for rather long dives. We got to see this individual taking big, deep breaths at the surface and were treated to many wonderful fluke dives, a behaviour this species is known for. We were also close enough to hear the exhales, known as blows, at the surface when the whale reappeared! During these dives, while the whale was under, we got a very close look at an Arctic skua harassing some seagulls, showing off its speed and agility mere meters from the boat! After a lovely time with this whale, we decided to continue on in hopes of spotting some other species. We got a nice look at some more Atlantic puffins speeding out into the bay for some fishing, some Arctic tern squeaking nearby, and the majestic Northern gannets soaring above. As our time was running out, we turned towards the harbour and started making out way back. On our way, we spotted 2-3 minke whales surfacing and sneakily disappearing again and again. We got to see the wonderful whales a good couple of times, and made our way back, very happy with our excursion.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Orsi

14:00 - With some drizzle we bundled up and set sail. First we admired our Atlantic puffin colony before heading out into the bay. Conditions on the bay this afternoon were ideal for spotting and the wind had disappeared. Not too far from port we spotted the back of one minke whale and so we stopped to check them out. As we were waiting for this individual another solitary minke whale surfaced. After a surface sequence it seemed like these individuals were off again and so we continued. Shortly after we saw four harbor porpoises and admired them for a few surface sequences before continuing.  After a little while we spotted another solitary minke whale surfacing close to us. This individual provided us with an excellent viewing and we even got to smell their stinky minke breath! A real immersive experience. This individual surfaced multiple times and it was so calm that we could hear them take a breath! In the distance we spotted a blow and so we went to see who we had spotted. As we came up to the area we realized we had spotted not one but two humpback whales together! This pair gave us a fluke dive as we approached them which was wonderful. We could see on the fish finder that they were swimming under us! When they resurfaced they were very close! It was amazing to see their entire bodies through the surface of the water. After multiple surface sequences and a double fluke dive, it was time to head back to port. As we headed back we spotted one white-beaked dolphin. This individual was on the move and so after a few minutes we continued back to port. What a great tour!

Crew:  Captain Emily & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide Sam

16:00 - As we headed out this afternoon, the wind had calmed down, and the drizzle had stopped, we were in for prime cetaceans spotting conditions with flat seas and the clouds painting the water silver. We had our first stop at the island of Engey, which hosts an Atlantic puffin colony for the summer months, so we got a nice close look at these adorable little birds before continuing out, deeper into the bay. We had our very first sighting quite early on, tiny dark brown fins darting around ahead, a pod of 4 harbour porpoises! The small cetaceans tend to be rather shy, and we can only see them in certain sea states, so we were really thrilled to be able to catch a glimpse of them. We continued on, and soon some more, larger fins caught our eye, a large group of white-beaked dolphins! We followed a pod of around 15 individuals, but we could see some more clusters of 4-5 fins slicing through the water on either side of us, a bit further in the distance. The group we followed was very active, jumping, leaping, porpoising and even breaching! After showing off their acrobatic skills, they began circling in an area and we got to get a closer look at the composition of this pod. There were a lot of tiny dolphins surfacing directly next to larger ones, clearly mother-calf pairs! The pod must've had around 3 such pairs and some more juveniles hanging around. What a pleasure to see them playing so energetically! We continued on, waving goodbye to these magnificent dolphins, and soon spotted a fin that looked very similar to theirs, but on the back of a much longer, larger whale, a minke whale! As we were on the lookout for this elusive whale to surface again, we also had another sighting of a pod of 5 harbor porpoises. We saw 2 minke whales in total, surfacing very quietly and disappearing without a trace (right up until the moments we were about to continue on, as then, they would reappear suddenly). We also got to keep an eye on some of the seabirds, and got to see an Arctic skua harassing some seagulls in the distance. We also got to see the majestic Northern gannets soaring above and plunge diving in the distance, as well as having an adorable close visit from a bathing common guillemot and a rather nosy Northern fulmar. We continued on once more, eager to see what else the bay may have in store for us, and were surprised by a breaching humpback whale! It was actually a pair of humpbacks, one of which showed of with two rather unexpected breaches. After the acrobatic display, the pair seemed to calm down, and started resting near the surface, showing off their long pectoral fins shining through the surface of the water, their large blows, as well as a couple of fluke dives. We spent the remainder of our time with this lovely pair before turning back towards the harbour and heading in. What a beautiful afternoon tour!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Orsi

20:00 - We headed out on a cloudy evening, with the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds, creating beautiful light over the bay. After a stop at the puffin island and some searching, we spotted the blow of a humpback whale traveling slowly through the area. While following it, our attention was drawn to some exciting activity in the distance. Three humpback whales were bubble-net feeding together, including our local celebrity, Davy Jones. It was an incredible sight to witness this rare and coordinated feeding behavior. Soon, the trio split up, with two whales continuing to bubble-net feed while Davy Jones swam away. Before long, a fourth humpback joined Davy Jones, and we were treated to the remarkable spectacle of two pairs of humpback whales repeatedly bubble-net feeding side by side. It was a truly unforgettable encounter and a fantastic evening on the water.

Crew: Captain Steini & Guide Aleks