Friday, 22 September 2017

We sailed out with an icy wind, so everyone was happy with our overalls, and throughout the day we experienced long swells. We did however get a bit of sun and the views of the fjord were stunning.
Around Hjalteri, the old herring factory, we encountered our first humpback whale. It was Fjall, an animal that we have encountered often last summer and also this summer. We heard that further out in the fjord there were many whales and we decided to make the trip. We encountered a group of 5 humpback whales together and many different individuals moving by themselves.
During the second trip we spotted a minke whale. This is a smaller type of baleen whale that we do not encounter often in the fjord so it is always a nice treat.
In the afternoon a lot of the humpback whales were moving in pairs and we were literally surrounded by whales. Often we did not know which whale to look at because there were so many of them.
During the day we spotted 14 different humpback whales of which we knew 13. We recognized Fjall, Max, Gemini, Bae, Gills, Tattoo, King Louis, Lopapesa, Arnar, Cascade, Jackson, Syri and Atos. An amazing day with a big number of whales. 

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Calcagni

Thursday, 21 September 2017

We sailed out with amazing conditions, the sun was shining and there was almost no wind so the water was smooth as a mirror. Near Hjalteri we encountered our first whale, it was a Minke whale. We do not encounter this type of whale very often in the fjord so it always a nice surprise. Minke whales can be shy, but this whale was very relaxed, surfacing many times before going for a dive and approaching the boat. We sailed out further toward Grimsey where we encountered a bit of a whale party, there was a group of seven humpback whales together. A number of the individuals we recognized, Fjall, Tattoo, Adam and Millenium Falcon. During our second tour the group had split up into a group of 3 and 4 whales and we spotted more individuals in the distance. The group of 4 surfaced several times right next to the boat and they dived down synchronized which was an incredible sight! During all tours there were at least 10 whales in the area.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

High five for this day in Eyjafjördur! Five humpback whales made a rainy and chilly day bright and shiny. We went out and saw King Louis, Lopapesa, Blowromir, Millenium Falcon and Depill. They were alone and in pairs and came really close and moved South close to Akureyri. We are hoping that tomorrow they will stay as close and guarantee us as nice encounters. In the afternoon on the Ribs, the lucky passengers saw a whale breaching on 20 meters away. Simply an unforgettable experience that just leaves you happy and smiling.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

The rain was our guest today in the morning, but so was the quiet sea. After twenty minutes sailing, we encountered our first humpback whale "King Louis", and just in the vicinities one group of three whales and other two humpbacks swimming northern, but not far away. The weather conditions improved as the rain stopped and we finished our morning tour with astonishing views of the fjord. On the second trip, we encountered the same six whales from the previous tour: “King Louis”, “Blowromir”, “Millennium Falcon”, "Fjall", "Depill", and the new whale that we just named as "Lopapeysa"! A genuinely enjoyable day out full of whales.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Monday, 18 September 2017.

Sailing out in Eyjafjordur today was very good with warm south winds again and almost flat seas. Just southern Hjalteri we encountered a group of three humpback whales. So we were able to travel between the whales, and three of the individuals we identified as the same animals from the previous day: “King Loui”, “Blowromir”, and “Millennium Falcon”. There were also two other whales swimming in the vicinities, "Fjall" and "Depill". On the second tour, the weather conditions were very similar, and also the whales. However, now we had a group of four animals swimming together. What an enjoyable day in our astounding Eyjafjordur and its whales.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Sunday, 17 September 2017

Excellent day in Eyjafjördur today: light southeast winds, practically flat seas and higher air temperatures.  There were five humpback whales on our morning and afternoon tours. In the morning, we were surprised with a group of four whales that suddenly appeared in front of us while we were spotting a blow further north. The whales were swimming and diving just around us for many times, and we could get beautiful pictures from the flukes. Therefore, from the flukes, we could recognise four humpbacks from the five animals, they were: “Fjall”, “King Loui”, “Blowromir”, and “Millennium Falcon”. Besides, one whale is a new sight for Eyjafjördur. After a time the humpbacks divided into two groups of one, and one group of two animals; plus the humpback that was distant. In the afternoon the whales were still in the same area in 4 different groups as at the end of the last tour. There was a moment that while we were stopped waiting for the whales, two animals just showed at the front, and the passengers could see the long pectoral flippers of the whales and hear their powerful blows. Clearly a marvellous day in the Eyjafjördur. 

Text by Manu Bassoi and pictures by Manu Bassoi and Guillaume Calcagni.

Saturday, 16 September 2017

Rain and wind made today’s tours a wet, but fun experience. The wind was coming from the south-east so the temperatures were considerably mild for this time of the year. Again the Eyjafjördur humpback whales Fjall and King Louis made sure we had successful tour without having to sail very far out in the fjord. Especially if the weather is a bit rough like today we do appreciate the shelter from the mountains and Hjalteryi even more. Fjall was quite stationary today and allowed us to come very close so that it was definitely worth it to stay outside in the rain and wait for the cetaceans to resurface. May tomorrow be full of whales again and hopefully a bit drier than today.

Text by Babsi Neubarth and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni and Manu Bassoi

Friday, 15 September 2017

We sailed out in cloudy but mild conditions. The frosty wind from the previous days had left and we now had an almost warm wind. So there was not much need for our overalls today. After a 30 minute sail, we encountered our first humpback whale. It was King Louis, an animal that we saw the first time in 2016 and that has been around for the last few days. King Louis showed us its beautiful flukes several times. In the distance we spotted another individual, it was Fjall a humpback whale that has been in the fjord for the entire summer season. Both Fjall and King Louis were very calm and stayed at the surface for a long time, they even approached the boat several times giving us great close up looks.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 13 September 2017

We sailed out with a strong icy wind, but luckily the sun decided to come out today to warm us up a little bit during the tours. In the morning we had to sail out all the way to Grenivik to spot our first humpback whale. It was a new individual that we have encountered regularly the last few days. The animal seemed to be travelling, moving far under the water and surfacing short periods of time. Luckily we were able to follow the whale well, so we managed to get good views of its beautiful flukes. On our way back we got a bit of a surprise when we encountered a humpback whale named King Louis. This animal was last seen in 2016, so it is great to see it again in good health. In the second tour we were able to observe King Louis very well because it came up several times next to the boat. On the rib boat tour people got a great surprise when King Louis started tail lobbing, throwing its back body out of the water and causing big splashes. 

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Calcagni

Tuesday, 12 September 2017

Today has been phenomenal! On all of our tour we got a glorious sun shine, blue sky, and a mirror sea! Temperatures were not high, but it doesn't matter when you got this gorgeous fjord as your background. Our friends the humpback whales were a little bit far away, off Grenivik, but in addition of them we could also sight a surprisingly friendly minke whales, and a lot of harbour porpoises! Sightings under the sunshine always have something magical. Today we saw Fjall and King Louis as resights among our humpback, plus Dépill which is a recent addition to our catalogue. Let's hope tomorrow hold the same conditions!

Text and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Monday, 11 September 2017

We sailed out with cloudy and very windy conditions. There was a frosty bite to the wind because during the night it had actually been snowing. So in the fjord we could see the snowy caps on the mountains again. During the morning tour the sun starting coming through giving us amazing views of the fjord. We had to sail out for quite a distance before we spotted our first whale. It was a new individual that we encountered for the first time a few days ago. The animal seemed to be travelling, it moved big distances under the water during every dive. So it was quite challenging to follow the animal, luckily we did manage to get good views of it. We spotted a second whale, it was Fjall. During the afternoon tour we spotted Donald Hump, Jackson and the new individual.  Donald Hump was very relaxed and allowed us to get some great close up views.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Manu Bassoi

Sunday, 10 September 2017

A north wind and rain in the Eyjafjördur today but fortunately we could see our beloved humpback whales. Despite the unfavourable wind conditions, we could encounter our known humpback whale called "Fjall" and a new individual that is here since two days ago, and we didn't give a name for this humpback yet. Therefore, one more whale for our catalogue! The whales raised their flukes several times, which was very well appreciated by the passengers.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Saturday, 9 September 2017

Calm seas as it can be and a dry sky made today’s tours a real treat. On our morning tour we went all the way to Grenivik to find a total of five Eyjafjördur humpback whales. A new sighting and Fjall were busy feeding on the rich fish stocks which we could see on our fish finder were located at the sea bottom, about 85 meters deep. After that we could enjoy Arnar, Soma and Gills travelling in a group of three. When we returned to Akureyri we also met a minke whale and observed it surfacing a few times. A good start to the day that would be followed by another really nice tour with the same humpback whales. The highlight was clearly an unexpected breach that many of our passengers could see. Again a really successful day here for Elding Whale Watching Akureyri.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Friday, 8 September 2017

Between Grenivik and Hjarteryi proofed to be the golden area for our tours today. The seas were calm, not much wind and some sun from time to time contributed towards a fantastic day out at sea. On the morning tours we saw a total of nine different whales including the resights of last year Gills, Soma and Sydri. They were split up in a group of three and four whales with Jackson and Fjall preferring to be by themselves today. It surely is just stunning to see so many whales surfacing at the same time! In the afternoon we got to meet six different whales. One of these humpbacks isn’t know yet so we here in the office are now busy finding a good name for it. A truly fun day out full of humpback whales.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 7 September 2017

The wind from the north is back, so today we made sure to make good use of our overalls to prevent us from turning into popsicles! On our morning trip we had to go all the way to Grenivik to find 3 humpback whales, and in the afternoon they did us the courtesy of moving south of Hjalteyri, so much much closer to Akureyri, thank you very much! It goes without saying that Tattoo was still here today, and Fjall as well. And o add up to the excitement, we even met a newcomer today! Dark is its fluke, with scarce white freckles, we will make sure to give it a nice name. Don't hesitate to drop us some name suggestions if you come up with something nice!

Text by Guillaume Calcagni, pictures by Barbara Neubarth

Wednesday, 6 September 2017

We sailed out with cloudy conditions and a strong wind, so our tour was a bit adventurous due to some high swells. Giving us a taste of the Icelandic rollercoaster.
The whales had moved out further in the fjord so we had to sail for about an hour before we encountered our first humpback whale. It was an individual called Donald Hump. Donald spend a lot of time at the surface and started tail lobbing, throwing its back body out of the water and hitting the water surface with force producing big splashes. In the mean time we were also able to view a second humpback whale in the distance.
On the second tour we encountered Tattoo. Tattoo surfaced a number of times right next to the boat and fluked very high, showing us its beautiful tail several times.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Tuesday, 5 September 2017

We sailed out in quite mild conditions, the sun was out and there was not too much wind. After half an hour sailing we encountered our old humpback whale friend Tattoo, who also kept us company during a big part of the afternoon tour. After getting some good views of Tattoo we sailed further out into the fjord and we encountered three more humpback whales, Fjall, Arnar and a new individual. It is always exciting for us to see new individuals in the fjord because we can add these to our whale catalogue. The weather conditions did not remain sunny unfortunately so during the afternoon trip the red overalls were needed.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Calcagni

Monday, 4 September 2017

Rain was our guest today again, but so was the calm sea! Few drops of water is nothing in the eyes of brave sailors in the North, but the humpback whales are sure a wonder to sight! Today the fjord delivered as well, we got to see Tattoo and Fjall, our most loyal whales. While waiting for them to come back from their dives, we go to see some lion's maine jellyfish as well. It's always nice to see all kind of wildlife in our tours! Tomorrow we should have as well an easy sailing with low wind, so make sure to join us!

Text by Guillaume Calcagni, pictures by Manu Bassoi and Guillaume Calcagni

Sunday, 3 September 2017

We went out on two tours today, one on Holmasol and one on the RIB boat Solfar. On both tours the sailing conditions were almost perfect with really calm seas, blue sky and a sun warming our faces. In the morning from the RIB we saw Fjall and Tattoo and in the afternoon the new whale from two days ago joined the whale watching adventure. The humpback whales came really close on both tours and in the afternoon we could even observe two full out breaches from Tattoo. It really is a whale that is always good for a surprise when you least expect it. September started off really nice and we sure hope that it will continue like this.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Saturday, 2 September 2017

Rainy day doesn't necessarily mean lousy days! A bit of rain obviously doesn't make any difference for the whales since they are aquatic animals, and for us despite the rain we had a flat sea and calm winds. So be it on the RIB boat or on our larger vessel, the sailing has been enjoyable. The morning was a bit tricky with busy whales, but then they loosened up and we had easy sightings. We saw again among our regular humpback whales Tattoo, Donald Hump and Fjall, and we discovered a new individual! The fluke appears in the pictures of today's entry. Today has been filled with excitement, with new faces among our humpback whales and close encounters! 

Text and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni