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

Saturday, 12 August 2017

Weather and sea conditions were just perfect today in the morning: flat seas and fantastic visibility. In the morning tour, we had many sightings of small groups of harbour porpoises. Sailing north in the vicinities of Hjaltery we spotted our first humpback whale "Tattoo". After this encounter, the captain continued sailing north and more three known humpbacks were just waiting for us: "Granade", "Cascade", and "Engelbert". At the way back some seabirds were seen: northern fulmars, arctic skua, and kittiwakes. However, whales, porpoises and sea birds were not the only species we got to admire today; we had a pleasant surprise of a harbour seal on the way back to Akureyri. A great day well spent out at sea. 

Pictures were taken by Guillaume and Manu and text by Manu.

Friday, 11 August 2017

Eyjafjördur today was overcast and raining in the morning, but as the whales are not worried about being wet, we were expecting a great encounter. From early morning till late evening we always observed five humpback whales including "Grenade", "Fjall", "Giljagaur", "Vivian", and our favourite fluke among all - "Tattoo". They were in a group of four individuals, and only "Grenade" was alone. The whales were showing the flukes several times, and all them in the same area not far from Akureyri. We could enjoy a group of four humpbacks diving syncronized with the flukes "waving us". Some groups of harbour porpoises also made their appearance in the morning tours. 

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

Thursday, 10 August 2017

What a great day! After some days of less merciful weather, we got a day with weaker wind and overall not so chilly temperatures. And the whales! Most of the day we got two humpbacks whales going by the name of Tattoo and Grenade. So not many of them but they treated with close encounters, endless fluking and powerful blows. And for the midnight tour, they got joined by 3 others individuals: Giljagaur, Vivian and FJall! So we basically spent the day with old friends, regulars of the fjord, for our greatest joy! Today Eyjafjordur reminded us that it is truly a humpback whale paradise, and we could not be happier about it. Nice time seems to be ahead of us!

Text and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Wednesday, 9 August 2017

We went out today in Eyjafjord and spotted Humpback whales!

Tuesday, 8 August 2017

Today’s weather conditions were completely the opposite compared to yesterday. We started with a sunny sky and very calm seas and finished with rain and wind blowing from the North. This of course didn’t stop us from going out and finding humpback whales. The whales were mainly in the area between Hjalteryi and Hauganes where they were busy feeding on the rich fish stocks. Grenade, Tattoo, Bibliotheka, Fjall, Pepper, Enghelbert and Arnar made sure that we had close up and personal encounters with nature on each of our tours with a minimum of 5 Eyjafjördur humpbacks on the morning tour. There is nothing better than if it is the whales themselves which approach us and come very close. After all, we want to do whale watching on the whales terms here in Akureyri and that is what we got. So we definitely had a great day on this Tuesday.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 7 August 2017

The day started raining in the morning, but after a while, it stopped, and we had only an overcast sky with some shining moments. We sailed towards the north, and one blow appeared on the horizon, a humpback whale. We stayed a while with this individual and after this encounter, northern off Hjalteyri, we spotted four humpback whales that have been seen in the fjord since the past three weeks: “Tatoo”, “Granade”, “Atnar”, and “Pepper”. It was a pleasant meeting as the whales were diving and showing their flukes frequently as in a queue, and sometimes two animals were synchronised. Furthermore, in the afternoon tour, we had a gorgeous humpback tail lobbing and two breachings! Groups of harbour porpoises were also present in all tours today, and on some occasions, we could see them quite close while we were stopped waiting for the whales. Despite the weather a delightful day with many humpbacks and harbour porpoises, and Spanish dancing with our passengers!

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi and Babsi Neubarth.

Sunday, 6 August 2017

We had a good day today in Eyjafjördur with a bit of rain and all sorts of weather ranging from sun to strong periods of rain. Luckily the weather in Iceland is changing rather quickly so that we do not have to battle the elements for too long at a time. Humpback whales made every one of our tours a success. It was really fun to see Donald Hump, Georgio and Cascade surfacing together in the morning and observe our adorable Jackson in the afternoon. Today also marked the return of Montague, one of the smaller humpbacks that we had already seen yesterday. We were also fortunate enough to see a pec and a tail slap. Towards the end of the day the whales got a bit more elusive, so we are ready for tomorrow morning to go out and see what the Eyjafjördur humpbacks are up to then.

Text by Babsi Neubarth and pictures by Guillaume Calcagni

Saturday, 5 August 2017

After few days in a row with good sighting success, it's safe to assume that the whales came back in number in the Fjord! Even if the wind slowly picked up all day long, we still got easy sailing, sunshine and gorgeous scenery. Overall about 7 different individuals of humpback whales were seen today. We had Lumière, back in Eyjafjordur after disappearing for a couple of month, pairing with Georgio in the morning, and in the afternoon we had Donald Hump, Fjall and Tattoo traveling together. In addition we also sighted Pepper with its beautiful dark fluke, and met again Avalanche, who we reckonized from last year, with its 2 biting marks on the tip of each flukes! Times to times we also caught glimpses of crazy porpoises kamikazing in the front of the boat! Needless to say that we had a great time sailing today!

Pictures and text by Guillaume Calcagni

Friday, 4 August 2017

Marvelous day today out in the fjord with sun and just enough wind to make sure everybody had a fun ride. The humpback whales had moved much closer towards Akureyri compared to yesterday so that it took us only about 30-40 minutes to find them. On each tour we saw 6-8 Eyjafjördur humpbacks mixing and mingling. Of course Tattoo was always to be found in a group whereas Fjall for a change seemed to need some time for itself. We spend a lot of quality time with different whales on each tour and returned happy and smiling back to the harbor. Seems like the whales are ready for a great weekend and so are we. Come and join us on one of our Classic or Express Whale Watching Tours!

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 3 of August 2017

We sailed out in cloudy conditions with a cold wind. So passengers were very happy with our red overalls and blankets. After about 20 minutes sailing we encountered our first humpback whale of the tour. The animal seemed to be travelling moving quickly clearly heading in one direction. After sailing further in the fjord we discovered a Minke whale, the animal came up several times in the same area. Since we do not see Minke whales often it is always a nice surprise to spot one in the fjord. In the afternoon we discovered that a number of the humpback whales were quite far out, after about an hours sail we encountered 8 whales of which 5 were moving together. It was a great sight seeing the animals swimming and diving together. They came up several times very close to the boat giving the passengers a great view.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Guillaume Malpaccini

Wednesday, 2 August 2017

Another grand day has passed in the Eyjafjördur with a little wind in the morning, and sunny. We went out from early morning till late at night, with five tours, and could meet three species of cetaceans. First, many groups of harbour porpoises, and four known humpback whales ("Donal Hump", "Pepper", "Fjall", and "Cross Stitch").  The whales were mostly alone, but a group of three humpbacks was also spotted. However, after a long time of waiting, we finally could encounter this summer a group of about eight to ten white beaked dolphins! The dolphins were in the north part of the fjord, southern off Hrisey Island. Furthermore, the great moments of the tours were two humpback breachings and head slapping many times. We just could not believe such performance! Thanks a lot for this day!

Pictures and text by Manu Bassoi.