Tuesday, 16 July 2019

Today we got to sail the fjord further to the North near the Island of Hrisey. On our way we saw a lot of harbour porpoises as the sea was flat and made it easier to spot these small and fast animals. We also saw a minke whale popping up briefly. In the morning we found a sleeping humpback whale, just calmly resting at the surface allowing us to observe it more closely. The same humpback whale was with us later in the afternoon as well, this time being more active and doing a lot of diving after the good sleep. We could hardly keep up with the humpback whale popping up unpredictably around the boat which made it even more exciting to watch. Blow and there it was again! An interesting day in the cloudy fjord!

Departures today CLASSIC 9, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS 10:00

Text and picture by Viivi Pöyhönen

Monday, 15 June 2019

A wet start to a wonderful day, it was a bit cloudy and rainy on our morning tour but this day blossomed into a beautiful hot and sunny afternoon, which lasted the rest of the day. The fjord was wonderfully flat and there was practically no wind. Our passengers were delighted today with some wonderful Harbour Porpoises, which popped up many times throughout the day, showing their cute little bodies as they did so. Our star of the day was a marvelous Minke Whale, who dazzled us with some wonderful surfacing and kept us on our toes as it popped up on one side and then the other giving us all a whale workout. Another fantastic day on the fjord.

Today’s departures:

Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00,14:00 & 21:00

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Sunday, 14 July 2019

A day full of changes here in the fjord awaited us, at least weather wise. We started off under a blue sky with almost no wind and ended with wind lowing from the North East and rain in the evening. Luckily our sightings were not affected by the change in weather and we could encounter humpback whales on all of our tours. They had moved closer into the fjord again and we spent some lovely moments with two humpback whales just outside of Hjalteyri. One of the humpback whales we recognized as Dark Knight, a whale we have been seeing in the fjord since 2016. We are glad to see the whales are moving closer towards Akureyri again and looking forward towards tomorrow.

Departures today: CLASSIC: 9, 10, 13, 14, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS: 10, 11, 12, 14 & 16

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Saturday, 13 July 2019

Today was a day with very different tours, just like the last few days have been. In the morning, the sea conditions were fantastic and we got to see some very nice harbour porpoises for a few moments, the smallest and cutest of the cetacean species in the fjord. Since we did not see any of the bigger species we always hope to show our passengers, we offered everyone a complimentary ticket to try their luck on another one of our tours either in Akureyri or Reykjavik. When we went out again in the afternoon, we came across a humpback whale after about an hour or so of sailing out in the fjord. After spotting the animal for the first time as it went for a dive, it came up jumping out of the water! It breached another 3 times and then started pectoral-slapping and tail-lobbing for the next 20 min or so. A great show for everyone! On a sad note, this humpback whale was obviously entangled in fishing gear in the past. It had a lot of scars and the dorsal fin and edges of the tail fin looked cut off. There was no gear attached to the animal anymore so it somehow was able to free itself - a survivor! We hope it will stay safe in the future and stay with us in the fjord for some time.

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 21:00 Express: 10:00, 13:00 & 16:00

Text by Hanna Michel and photos by Rodrigo Martinez Catalan

Friday, 12 July 2019

It was a gorgeous day to go out on a boat tour today! And the morning had a a literally huge surprise in store for us: A BLUE WHALE! We saw it quite deep in the fjord (for a blue whale!), even South of the Island of Hrisey. Another whale watching vessel was kind enough to inform us about their sighting, so we headed out and we actually got a good look at this huge animal! It only surfaced one to two times per surfacing after a longer dive but the dives were never long for a blue whale, around 6 min. And this animal never moved far from where it surfaced before which made it easy for us to follow. Because it was quite far away from our harbour, we could not spend as much time with the blue whale as we would have liked but it was possible for everyone to get a look on the animal. The second tour was less lucky. The blue whale had moved far up the fjord, impossible for us to reach. Instead we came across a minke whale that surfaced a couple of times fairly close to us! However, we lost track of the animal quite soon and, therefore, decided to offer our passengers complimentary tickets that allow them to come on another tour with us for free. These are valid for the next two years and can be used either with us in Akureyri or with our sister company Elding Whale Watching in Reykjavik.

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 21:00 Express: 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 & 21:00

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Thursday, 11 July 2019

Another day going out from Dalvik instead of Akureyri for us! As the whales have moved rather far North these days, we were taking passengers by bus to the lovely village of Dalvik and started our whale watching tours there to get a head start and spare some sailing time. Not only did we get to see humpback whales on our tours today but I think the crews favorite were the awesome white-beaked dolphins! We do not often see them very deep in the Fjord so this was also an “extra” on our tours now that we departed from Dalvik and went North where the chance to see them is much higher! Nice weather, nice humpbacks and great white-beaked dolphins today!

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

BREEEEEEACH! What a fantastic day! Not only were we blessed with some beautiful weather, the sun was shining, there was hardly any wind and the sea almost flat, we got to see a lot of amazing animals. On our morning tours 4 humpback whales were spotted 2 of which were travelling together which was just lovely to watch. Our afternoon tours witnessed something quite wonderful, a few humpbacks popped up throughout the tour and then a magical pod of white-beaked dolphins. Suddenly, a whale began breaching (jumping out of the water) which was just incredible!! Not only did it do it once but multiple times, it then rolled over and began pectoral slapping (hitting its long pectoral flippers against the water). This behavior is very rare to see and always an awe inspiring sight. This whale continued to jump, then slap for at least the next 30 minutes! Our later tours got to enjoy some more humpbacks and even a few dolphins here and there. Another exceptional day in Eyjafjörður.

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

Today we were again departing from Dalvik, but again, it was totally worthy this extra bus ride. On all of our tours we enjoyed amazing weather and of course whales in beautiful scenery. Mouth of fjord was busy with feeding animals: birds, humpback whales and even white-beaked dolphins. In average we saw 4 humpback whales each tour and a small pod of dolphins. Humpbacks were going for deep dives, lifting high tails and coming back with big blows. It was sometimes bit tricky to keep up with them but all that waiting and searching was rewarded. One of the whales seen today was ”Dark Knight”, it’s good to have old friend back again.

Departures today: CLASSIC: 9, 13 & 17 EXPRESS: 10, 14, 16 & 21

Text by Ewa Malinowska and pictures by Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan

Monday, 8 July 2019

What a beautiful day with cloudy mountains over the fjord. Today we got to sail further up north, past the island of Hrisey almost to the mouth of the fjord. On our way we saw lots of seabirds : arctic terns, kittiwakes, guillemots, northern fulmars and….. PUFFINS! We don’t get to see puffins in Eyjafjordur very often, so this was an exciting moment for us! We also found a humpback whale that was resting at the surface allowing us to get observe the beautiful animal closely. A small pod of white beaked dolphins joined us as well and were circ ling around us for a while. A lovely day to sail the fjord!

Departures today: CLASSIC: 9, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS: 10, 16 & 21

Text by Viivi Poyhonen and pictures by Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan

Sunday, 7 July 2019

Many cruise ships, a lot of people and many boats were out and about today, eager to spot cetaceans. The wind had picked up a bit and it was raining here and there, but nothing that we could not handle. Sailing was still fun and plenty of harbor porpoises were around, likely hunting for fish. These cuties were sometimes a bit hard to see in the choppy waters, nevertheless we got good views of them. Of course we were also on the look out for larger cetaceans and strangely could not find them today. Therefore, we offered all our passengers complimentary tickets to try again for free either in Akureyri or Reykjavik. Maybe the food has moved a bit or is better at some other parts of North Iceland, we simply do not know. It changed very quickly compared to June and just like that it can changed back. In the early afternoon the wind had calmed down significantly and enabled us to go further out and there they were our beloved humpback whales. We saw at least three different individuals. A very nice ending to a not so easy day.

Departures today: CLASSIC: 9, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS: 10

Text by Babsi Neubarth, pictures by Tess Hudson

Saturday, 6 July 2019

Beautiful and sunny days in Iceland are scarce but today we had one of those and it couldn´t have been better. Mirror-flat seas and excellent conditions for sailing were our basis to start a wonderful experience. We explored Eyjafjordur and we were able to track a very curious and nice minke whale. This animal was extremely approachable and we could follow it for a while. Apart from the minke whale, lots of birds were present in the fjord and swans were in big numbers as well as geese with little goslings which made our passengers leave the boat with a huge smile. Unfortunately, we were less lucky on our afternoon tour and did not see any whales. Therefore, we handed out complimentary tickets to our passengers so they can come join another one of our tours for free which will hopefully be more successful. In the evening, the wind was picking up more and more creating some big waves. Due to the deteriorating sea conditions, our 5 PM tour turned back to the harbour after one hour of sailing and we offered passengers a complimentary ticket or a refund. Therefore, the 8:30 PM tour was cancelled.

Departures today: Classic: 9:00, 13:00 & 17:00 Express: 10:00 & 14:00

Text and pictures from Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan

Friday, 5 July 2019

Today whales were in a playful mood, but it was 'hide and seek’ they were playing. We accepted that challenge and after long search we found them. In the morning tour we sailed almost till the mouth of the fjord till we found a humpback whale. Despite presence of 3 boat this whale was so relaxed that we had impression that it is sleeping, logging on the surface or sun-bathing but finally we got to see it’s tail. Later this day we were again searching far in the fjord without big success ( but watching harbour porpoises) till on the way back we found whales, not only a humpback whale but also a minke whale.

Departures today: Classic: 9:00, 13:00 & 17:00 Express: 10:00 & 16:00

Text by Ewa Malinowska, photos Rodrigo Martinez

Thursday, 4 July 2019

Today felt rather like a day to stay at home with a hot chocolate or a cup of tea - it was windy, rainy and just not really nice outside. Still some brave passengers joined us on our tours today and got to see a humpback whale feeding and traveling close to the island called Hrisey in the fjord. Similar to the last few days we had to go further North than most of the time in June so it takes us longer at the moment to get to see the animals that we are looking for. The number of whales still seems to be rather low as well but that can also change again any day!

Departures today: Classic: 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00, 14:00 & 21:00

Text by Hanna Michel
Photos by Ewa & Rodrigo

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

The golden rule when trying to spot wildlife is trying to be patient. And lately, we have had to be so. Whale watching is not always easy, it can sometimes be very tricky. Whales have been appearing a long drive away from Akureyri, and certainly not very interested in boats, making our job much more difficult. But with patience, perseverance and positive attitude it has been working out quite well. We have seen a few tails of different whales, some of them very close from our boat.

Departures today: Classic: 9:00, 13:00 & 17:00 Express: 10:00 & 16:00

Text by Albert Camara and pictures by Rodrigo Martiniano

Tuesday, 2 July 2019

Sunny and windy weather expected us on all our tours today. Still, it was nice to enjoy the beautiful surroundings under a blue sky. As last night had already indicated, we had to sail further North than we were used to throughout July. At the height of the village of Hauganes we encountered our beloved humpback whale Depill and one minke whale. It had been quite a while since we have last seen a minke whale. Hence, we were very happy to see it. Whales are currently not as numerous as they used to be during the last couple of weeks. Still, we had a nice time out and about the island fjord.

Departures today: CLASSIC 9, 13, 17 & 20:30, EXPRESS 10, 12 & 21

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 1 July 2019

Hide and seek with humpback whales! Today we got to sail at high speed in the windy fjord as we were looking for our whale friends who had moved further up north. We found a couple of humpback whales and had to use all of our senses to keep up with them. They were moving around a lot and sometimes we couldn’t see them behind the waves but only hear their blow. And then, out of nowhere, a whale would pop up just in front of us! One whale even performed some tail slapping for us, a behaviour we don’t get to witness every day !They definitely kept surprising us over and over again. We were also accompanied by many sea birds such as northern fulmars, arctic terns and guillemots. We even saw glimpses of harbour porpoises on the way. A very interesting day full of surprises!

Today’s departures CLASSIC 9, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS 12, 14 & 21

Text by Viivi

Sunday, 30 June 2019

Breaching, breaching, breaching! The humpbacks whales were quite active today, we got to whales breaching on several tours and also some tail-lobbing! “Khaleesi” and “Depill” were among those whales encountered today, close to the abandoned herring factory of Hjaltery. There are not as many humpbacks around as a week ago or so but a handful of them are still around. Some others seem to have traveled a bit further North in the fjord. They were not always making it very easy today but with a little but of patience we were rewarded with some of their special acrobatic behaviours!

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30, Express: 10:00, 12:00 & 21:00

Text by Hanna Michel, photos by Rodrigo Martinez

Saturday, 29 June 2019

A busy day with many passengers, tours and luckily also humpback whales awaited us in the fjord. We went out extra early under a cloudy, but dry sky. There was a little bit of wind to be felt on our faces and some white caps made the spotting slightly difficult. Nevertheless, we managed to find 5 to 6 humpback whales and a few harbour porpoises throughout the tour. They were doing their favorite thing, feeding on the rich plankton and small schooling fish stocks. Khaleesi and Victoria were the two individuals we recognized instantly. On some other whales we could see signs of entanglement in abandoned fishing gear. Nothing that is uncommon nowadays unfortunately. Hence, if you ever find abandoned fishing gear on your local beach make sure to pick it up and dispose it responsibly. A third whale delighted our RIB boat passengers with breaches and head slaps, a stunning thing to witness. We definitely had a good time today.

Departures today: CLASSIC: 8, 9, 12, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS: 10 & 12

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Friday, 28 June 2019

Our humpback whales were a little bit more spread out today than the previous days, with some of them having come much further South as well, just 20 min away from Akureyri. On one of our tours we even got to see two whales jumping out of the water several times! But there were plenty of whales around on every tour today. Of course “Moonshine” was one of them, one of our favourites. And also “Victoria”, a humpback whale seen first in 2016 in this fjord, was spotted today for the first time this year! So exciting to see individuals come back here!

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00 & 12:00

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Thursday, 27 June 2019

Today was the perfect day to enjoy the summer temperatures while going out and watching whales! It is nice not to have to be bundled up when onboard like in the winter time. Our humpback whales were still all over the place today, popping up here and there and sometimes surfacing just meters away from the boat! We have also been seeing more and more new individuals over the last few days that we have not seen before in the fjord. Great to see them all come in here at the moment and soon they will get a name and be added to our humpback whale catalog, just like “Moonshine”, “Nebula”, “Khaleesi” and all the others we are seeing here at the moment.

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00, 12:00 & 14:00

Text and photos by Hanna Michel