Whale Diary

10:00 - With the sun shining and mostly blue skies, we applied our sunscreen and set sail, excited to see what wildlife awaited us. First we stopped by to admire our feathered friends the Atlantic puffins, busy bringing fish back to the burrows. We then set our sights for the bay. It was not too far before we spotted the blow of one humpback whale. When we first approached this individual they dove down about 100meters away, but then resurfaced right next to our boat! It was amazing to see their entire body through the surface of the water. This individual then showed off their fluke and it was nice to see their unique pattern up close. After a great viewing, it was time to continue. Not too far away we spotted another blow and went to check it out. We had found another solitary humpback whale. This individual was relaxed and just swimming through the water, before also showing off their fluke as well. We also had some Arctic terns and their fledglings fishing around this individual humpback which was wonderful to see.  On our way back to port after a great tour we then came across a third solitary humpback whale! This individual also showed off their fluke, and with that it was time to head back. A beautiful start to the day!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Sam, Captain Helgi & Guide Hannah

12:00 - We headed out on the waves again at lunchtime, still with the sun shining bright above us, and visibility so clear we could see all the way to Snaæfellsjökul. We made a brief stop by the island of Akurey to marvel at the ever so cute Atlantic puffins that were very busy bringing fish back to the burrows to feed their young. We continued on our travels further out into the bay, with some puffins still flying next to us as we sped up. Not far after passing Grótta lighthouse, we spotted the first blow. As we got closer, we discovered that it came from a humpback whale! This individual was surfacing very frequently, but in different places, so it kept us on our toes as we tried guessing where it would surface next. Suddenly, another tall blow appeared in the distance - another humpback whale! With time, the two individuals swam closer to each other, and even paired up in the end. We could compare their two fluke prints as they were diving deep below. After some beautiful close encounters, we were almost ready to leave, when one of them suddenly created a big splash by throwing its tail on the surface. We stayed for a moment as the humpback whale also treated us to a grand display of its pectoral fin! With big smiles on our faces we returned to the city full of new beautiful memories. 

Crew: Captain Miquel  & Guide Maja

14:00 - The sun was shining even more and the wind increased a little, so we were happy to bundle up in our overalls and set sail. We sailed right out into the bay and came across one humpback whale. This individual was very relaxed and swam through the waves. As this individual swam along we could see their body through the waves which was amazing. As we were with this individual another solitary humpback whale swam in the area as well so we went to check them out. They showed off their fluke right away which was incredible. After multiple surface sequences we got to see another fluke dive. This dive appeared to be taking longer than the others and so we waited, patiently looking around. Just as we thought we might have lost them, out they jumped! We had two breaches, which was extremely exciting to see their entire bodies above the surface of the water! With this excitement we waved our individual goodbye and headed back to port. On the way we came across a third solitary humpback whale surrounded by some Arctic terns! We had a nice surface sequences with this individual before setting our sights back to port. We admired our Atlantic puffin colony on Engey before ending our afternoon adventure. What a very memorable tour!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Sam, Captain Helgi & Guide Hannah