Whale Diary

10:00 - We started this morning with a short visit to the lovely puffins at Akurey. It was calm but foggy as we sailed out, but fortunately, the fog soon lifted and the sun came out. We found a couple of White-beaked Dolphins that seemed to be going somewhere, so we did not follow. We then saw a Humpback Whale that was doing long dives with only quick surfacing in between, so we decided to look further. Soon we were in an area where there were at least 3 other Humpback Whales that surfaced and fluked many times close to the boat! There was also a pod of about 5 White-beaked Dolphins in the area, and these proved to be playful as they approached the boat, swam under it, and breached! A great tour on this glorious day.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Kylie, Captain Örn & Guide Trausti

12:00 - Conditions were calm near the harbour but started to get a little breezier as we headed out into the bay in search of the Humpbacks sighted in the morning. We found an area with at least three individuals and were treated to a breach from one of the whales. Excellent start to the tour! We then found two pairs of Humpbacks swimming together and diving in formation. We had an amazing view of two flukes going down together close to the boat. We followed one of the pairs for a while, but all too soon it was time to head back in. On our return, Captain Örn spotted another blow, and we found another two Humpback Whales! We stopped to watch them, one cruising very slowly and close in front of us, until it dived, displaying its amazing fluke. Then it was a quick stop at Engey to see the fabulous puffins before heading back to the harbour.

Crew: Captain Örn & Guide Rach

14:00 - The weather conditions were very nice, the sun was shining, and the sea was a little choppy. We headed out to the place where we saw the whales on the previous tour and found them pretty fast again. First, it was 1 Humpback that we saw; he was very calm and surfaced a few times, so we left him alone and looked for something else. And we found our nice duo again. They were on fire this time; we spent a lot of time with them, and they didn't disappoint. They first were swimming alongside and then all of a sudden one of them started to do a peduncle throw, and then the other one started breaching! The first one then breached also, and this kept going for the next 6 minutes. Breaching, peduncle throws, and pectoral fin slapping. It was insane! So beautiful and amazing, everyone was mesmerized by the sight and so happy to be able to witness this! But all good things must come to an end, so we had to head back to the harbour. Total sightings: 3 Humpback Whales.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Kylie, Captain Örn & Guide Trausti

16:00 - The sun was still shining as we headed out for another tour. Conditions were a little splashy, but the wind had dropped a bit, making whale spotting easier. There were lots of Arctic Terns busy feeding with their newly fledged chicks flying around, begging for food off their parents. We kept a close eye on them and soon were rewarded with a sighting of a Humpback blow. We followed this whale and watched it dive and fluke a few times. There were other boats in the area, so we moved away to see what we could find. Perseverance paid off, and we watched a pair of Humpbacks in formation before heading in to see the mighty Atlantic Puffins basking in the sunshine at Akurey.

Crew: Captain Örn & Guide Rob, Captain Einar & Guide Rach

20:00 - Wow, what an evening. Such a privilege to be out on an evening like this. The sun was starting to set in all blue sky, with incredible visibility of all the surrounding landscape that turned golden as the evening progressed. With a little wind, conditions were slightly choppy and bouncy, but after a bit of splashy driving, we spotted a Humpback blow. Approaching this whale, it breached out of the water and then gave several tail slaps on the water. Then we were all delighted to see another breach! In the distance, we could see more blows and headed over to the most amazing sight of two Humpbacks feeding in formation, with a group of White-beaked Dolphins playing and jumping in between. The Humpbacks would dive and show their flukes, and then the dolphins would jump as if imitating them. Above them were a hundred or so Arctic Terns following their every move and catching the fish the whales were feeding on. We could watch the terns to see where the whales would come up next. The Humpback also treated us to some lunge feeding, which was amazing. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Maria, Captain Siggi & Guide Rach