Friday, 1 September 2017

A southwest wind all day in the Eyjafjördur, but fortunately sunny. Despite the unfavourable wind conditions, we could encounter our known humpbacks whale called "Tattoo" and "Donald Hump". Moreover, today we met a new humpback whale. That is so good to have a new face, I mean "fluke", in Eyjafjördur! Therefore, one more whale for our catalogue. We also could spot a tail lobbing at a distance, but when we got closer, the animal just went for a long dive. What a pity! However, the humpbacks were in a good mood, swimming slowly and raising the flukes several times. Kind whales made for happy passengers.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Thursday, 31 of August 2017

We sailed out with cloudy conditions and strong winds. So we experienced some swell and there were a lot of white caps, making it a bit more challenging to spot the whales. Close to the old herring factory Hjalteri we encountered two humpback whales that were swimming together, they were Tattoo and Donald Hump. These animals went their separate ways quickly though and seemed to be very busy feeding. They changed direction all the time, came up only shortly to the surface and moved far while they were diving. On the second tour the animals seemed to be a bit more calm and Tattoo came up very close to the boat and even diving under our boat. The sun had also come out warming us up after the chilly morning. On our way back to the harbour we encountered Donald Hump again giving us a nice send off.

Wednesday, 30 August 2017

Today has been marked by blue sky, sun, calm seas and quality times with Tattoo and Donald Hump the humpback whales. On each tour we got close up and personal with Tattoo, only a few meters away from the boat as well as good looks of Donald Hump. They were so nice that we decided to stay with them and just enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the fjord with sun galore. Clear skies are always good for northern lights and we are only two nights away from the start of our Northern Light Tours, so we are hoping the conditions will stay till we will not only watch whales, but the beautiful Aurora Borealis.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Tuesday, 29 August 2017

Sailing out in the morning in Eyjafjordur we experienced very chilly weather conditions, a lot of wind some rain and lots of clouds. Our warm red overalls were definitely needed this morning. Around the old herring factory Hjalteri we encountered 4 whales swimming by themselves. So we were able to move between the whales, three of the individuals we recognized they were Fjall, Tattoo and Donald Hump. The animals were moving quite fast and seemed to be travelling. On our way back we saw that Donald and Fjall had decided to hang out together. On the second tour the weather conditions changed, the sun came out and the low hanging clouds disappeared finally giving us a view of the beautiful mountains surrounding the fjord. Tattoo decided to give us a little whale surprise on our way back, popping up right next to our boat.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 28 August 2017

Eyjafjördur today was overcast, bit cold, but flat seas in the morning. We simply sailed to Hjaltery to find humpback whales. When we were looking out on the morning tour, we spotted the humpbacks "Cascade" and"Fjall". They were serene and swam slowly. We had also a group of harbour porpoises close to the whales. In the afternoon tour the wind decided to increase, but so the whales. There were four humpback whales in different sites. We had the previous whales and also "Arnar" and "Giljaguar". By the same token, "Giljaguar" decided to breach just in front of us! Everybody was just amazed by this amusing jump! Despite the weather a pleasant day with the Eyjafjördur whales and the breaching.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Sunday, 27 August 2017

We had a good day today in Eyjafjördur with a bit of windy and the weather ranging from light rain to sunny. However, as the whales do not care about the weather, two known humpbacks made our tours today. It was entertaining to see "Fjall" and "Cascade" surfacing and showing their flukes many times. We were also blessed to see a beautiful group of about twenty to twenty-five harbour porpoises during in the afternoon. Towards the last tour "Cascade" got a bit more difficult travelling very fast, but as tomorrow is another day we are very optimist to see a friendly behaviour again from our Eyjafjördur humpbacks.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Saturday, 26 August 2017

We sailed out with some typical Icelandic summer weather, clouds and rain. But luckily there was not a lot of wind, so we experienced some quite smooth sailing because there was not a lot of swell in the Fjord. Luckily the whales do not mind rain, we encountered 4 different humpback whales around Hjalteri, the old herring factory. The individuals we encountered were: Pringles, Giljagur, Flall and Cascade. During the last tour we had quite heavy rain but we had our red overalls to keep people dry and we got lucky because Pringles, Giljagur and Fjall decided to come together as a small group. We got great views of the three of them swimming and diving together. On our way back from the second tour we got a big surprise from Cascade who decided to jump out of the water completely. So it was well worth getting wet for.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Friday, 25 August 2017

Today we were blessed with lovely sailing conditions the whole day long. The sea was as smooth as it could be and the sun made it through the clouds throughout the day so that we were sailing under a blue sky. We started off with a bang in the morning so to speak because Tattoo decided to breach as a welcome to our passengers followed by a super close encounter with Cascade. These two humpback whales should be the two whales which kept us very well entertained the whole day. Therefore we did not go much further than Hjalteryi since the calmness and easiness was just so nice. Once again a very successful day here in Eyjafjördur.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 24 August 2017

To our greatest surprise, today has been mostly windless! With no winds comes the smooth silk-like sea! We can't ask for better. Since the sky was covered with clouds, we got that silver flat sea, which makes it almost too easy to spot the whales. We got to see today again our fair share of humpback whales, with Tattoo still being here, our favorite whale! We also saw Fjall, Cascade, Arnar, and even King Louis! The day has been spent with old friends, and we couldn't be happier about it!

Text and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Wednesday, 23 August 2017

The day started a bit cold than the last days, but the sea was still perfect for sailing and searching for the whales and dolphins. Just after fifteen minutes sailing from Akureyri harbour we could see our first blows, a group of three humpback whales and also close to these whales some harbour porpoises surfaced sometimes. We continued sailing towards Hjalteyri, and two blows appeared on the horizon - another group of two humpbacks. As we just left these enjoyable animals, we could watch one more humpback, and be heading south another whale. So far in the morning tour, we could enjoy seven humpback whales.  During the afternoon tour, as we sailed northwards, the humpbacks were in the same area close to Hjalteyri surfacing and showing their flukes several times. It was a great day for sightings. 

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Tuesday, 22 August 2017

Eyjafjördur at its best under a blue sky, with calm to a bit wavy sea and plenty of humpback whales. At least seven whales, including humpbacks and one minke whale honoured us with their presence on all our tours today. Fjall, Donald Hump, Pringels, Tattoo, Giljagaur, Cascade and Arnar were not too far of Akureyri so it seems like the food, small schooling fish, krill and plankton is back deep in the fjord. We could see, listen to and sometimes even smell the whales when they surfaced not far away from us. Northern Fulmars accompanied us constantly on our way and made the tours even more interesting and enjoyable. The evening tour was maybe the most special one today with 5 whales feeding together including two resights from last year, King Louis and Bear. Simply a good day today here in the North of Iceland.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 21 August 2017

It was a lovely warm day today in Eyjafjordur, sunny and not a lot of wind. We did not need to travel far to encounter 4 humpback whales together. It was amazing to see a group of 4 animals again, swimming together and diving together. The animals popped up several times right next to the boat giving the passengers a bit of a scare. We knew two of the individuals, they were Donald Hump and Tattoo. When we moved further into the fjord we found two other animals one of which was Fjall. We also encountered another whale type in the fjord today, a Minke whale. It is always nice to see a Minke whale because we do not see them often. 
The passengers on the rib boat got an amazing treat seeing a humpback whale head slapping and breaching.

Sunday, 20 August 2017

Eyjafjördur, humpback whales, two tours with a full boat, a dry sky and some fun swells were the formula for a successful day today. On our morning tour we saw a minke whale and six humpback whales between Hjalteryi and Grenivik and that is where the whales would stay for the rest of the day. Fjall, Cascade, Arnar, Whaliam Shakespeare, Tattoo and Grenade came close to both Holmasol and Solfar in different formations. Great shots, experiences and also hearing experiences were almost guaranteed for everybody when the humpbacks exhaled loudly nearby. Quite a few swells kept us busy holding on while watching cetaceans, but also made the encounters and sailing extra fun. We really enjoyed our time out at sea today and are looking forward towards the rest of August.

Text by Babsi Neubarth and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Saturday, 19 August 2017

Today the sun returned to the Eyjafjordur, so we sailed out with the sun on our faces. The wind however has a frosty bite to it today so heads and cloves were needed. Close to the old hering factory Hjalteri we encountered two humpback whales together, Tattoo and Fjall. They were very relaxed, staying at the surface for long times and moving together. When we sailed out in to the fjord we encountered two more whales swimming together of which one was Cascade. Also these two animals were moving slowly and very relaxed allowing for some very good views and pictures. We also spotted a individual by itself further out. So there were at least 5 whales in the area during the entire day.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Calcagni

Friday, 18 August 2017

Today we got the proper Icelandic summer experience in Eyjafjordur, it was cloudy, very windy and raining. Due to the wind we had some higher swells that made the trip a bit more adventurous. After half an hour sailing we encountered Tattoo, an old friend of ours who we have been seeing every day for the last weeks. After watching Tattoo for a while we sailed further out in the fjord and we were treated to the sight of an amazing rainbow and then we spotted a second whale, it was Fjall. We were able to see the whale Fjall under the beautiful rainbow which gave the opportunity for some amazing pictures. Despite the bad weather people stayed outside for the duration of the trip and had a great time riding the waves.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Calcagni

Thursday, 17 August 2017

A strong northern wind all day in the Eyjafjördur, but fortunately sunny. Despite the adverse weather conditions, we could encounter our known humpback whale called "Tattoo". Luckily the humpback whale does not seem to be impressed by the rough winds. This whale was diving quietly and always around the same area, so we were very pleased to see many times this humpback and its pretty fluke. Afterwards, we sailed north, but unfortunately, we could not find more whales. There were also northern fulmars flying close to the boat, and the astonishing landscape of Eyjafjördur with the sun light.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Wednesday, 16 August 2017

Today was one of these days where the weather and the sightings remained equals and consistent for all of the tours! What a blessing! The whales were further away than usual, and we had to sail all the way to Grenivik to find our humpbacks! We had Grenade, Arnar and Fjall together, providing us with great sightings of a terrific trio. And there also was Cascade and Whaliam Shakespeare on their own, in the vicinity. Closer to Hjalteyri, Tattoo was still here, as one of our best friends, but since most of the whales were far away we barely stopped for him. It's nothing personal Tattoo! Nice whales and calm sea made for happy passengers today!

Text and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Tuesday, 15 August 2017

Today in the morning was a fabulous day in Eyjafjördur. The sea was flat, and the sun was shining.  After a time that we left Akureyri, we found a harbour seal. Not far from this seal we had another harbour seal: a very nice starter for the tour as it is not common to have harbour seal in the fjord, imagine two harbour seals! Just southern off Hjalteyri we stopped for the first humpback whale, "Tattoo". Sailing northern, there were a group of three humpbacks: "Granade", "Cascade", and "Arnar", which were very much appreciated by the passengers. A very delightful day with the Eyjafjördur humpbacks and harbour seals, again!

Pictures and text by Manu Bassoi.

Monday, 14 August 2017

We sailed out with amazing conditions blue sky and sunshine and mirror smooth waters. We quickly spotted our first humpback whale, it was Tattoo, an individual that we have been seeing a lot the past few weeks. Tattoo behaved a bit elusive, coming to the surface shortly and taking long dives. We decided to move further in the fjord and near Hjalteri we spotted a Minke whale. We do not see this animals often so it is always a bit of a treat to spot one. We watched the animal come up several times and then we spotted two blows in the distance. There were two humpback whales moving together, they were Arnar and Cascade. They came up several times very close to the boat and moved very synchronized. During the midnight tour we were so lucky to spot this pair again but this time with an amazing sunset in the background.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Babsi Neubarth

Sunday, 13 August 2017

Impeccable conditions with blue sky, flat seas and sun expected us this morning in the fjord. It was slightly chilly and the wind increased, but the sun stayed for most of the time. At the moment it seems like all the food for the humpbacks has moved more towards the open ocean and with it have the humpbacks. Of course it doesn’t mean that the fjord is empty, however it means that we have less whales than we were spoiled with over the last few months. Still there is plenty of quality time to enjoy with the Eyjafjördur humpbacks like Tattoo, Cascade and Fjall. Maybe they do know us now as well as we know them since all three of them came very close and surfaced many times all around us on every of our tours. Great gentle giants these whales are for sure and we are very grateful we get to enjoy them day, after day, after day…

Pictures and text by Babsi Neubarth