Wednesday, 26 June 2019

Once again, and like these previous days, today we have found many Humpback whales at about 45 minutes north from Akureyri, right before Hjalteyri, in one of the deepest parts of the fjord (about 100 meters deep). It looks like there is plenty of fish in this area since our whales have been hanging around there during the whole day. We have encountered 15+ whales in this area, popping up around our boats like pop-corns. They made our job very easy, coming up to the surface very close from us for the delight of our guests.

Departures today: Classic at 9h, 13h, 17h and 20:30h; Express at 10h and 12h

Text and pictures by Albert Camara

Tuesday, 25 June 2019

It was windy but warm day, while tourist were still wearing jackets and scarfs, local kids were playing in the water next to our office. Wind was blowing from the South, so most of the time we were just pushed through the fjord, and only at the way back we were exposed. Similar to previous days humpback whales were waiting for us around 40 min (or 20 min by rib) away from Akureyri. Once we found first whale we started to see them all around. There were definitely more than 10 humpback whales surrounding our boat. Animals were coming up in all directions so pointing them out was a hard job. We saw their tails up in the air, dark bodies and white flippers shining through the water. Many of them were swimming just few meters away from our boats. Just another incredible day in the North Iceland.

Text and photos by Ewa Malinowska

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

Monday, 24 June 2019

Compared to the last few days, the sea conditions were very smooth today and there was almost no wind. However, there were still 10+ humpback whales around in the same area as yesterday. We hardly had to move the ship, we just slowly floated around while whales were popping up here and there around us. Sometimes they surfaced just meters away from us! Awesome day again with a few new individuals that are waiting for names now.

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

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Sunday, 23 June 2019

Today we woke up with a bright sun and mirror seas. It is not normal to have such flat seas and such a good visibility. It has been a pleasure to sail under this weather conditions, since it made our job even more pleasant and easier than usually. In all of our tours we have seen plenty of whales, including some of our regular visitors like Depill and Moonshine. At some point we did not know where to focus! We have also seen a couple of Minke whales. Who says there is no summer in Iceland?

Text and pictures by Albert Camara

Saturday, 22 June 2019

Whaaaaales eeeeeverywhere - that is the best summary for today’s tours. It took us about 45 min to get to the area where our humpback whales spent most of the time today, and then we were quickly surrounded by them. In the morning we did not even move the ship for about half an hour because there were humpbacks popping up everywhere around us. In the afternoon we slowly went through a large area and were able to watch at least 10 different individuals slowly passing by and showing us their beautiful flukes. The later tours today were not as calm as the morning tour due to the wind picking up, but the sailing was still pretty smooth. We even saw a couple of minke whales during the day too.

Tours today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00 & 17:00 Express: 10:00, 12:00 & 16:00

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Friday, 21 June 2019

Another day with lots of humpback whales around! We found three of them quite close together and every now and then teaming up and splitting up again a bit further South then the previous days. The sea was calm, with just a bit of swell and the whales were sticking around so that we barely had to move the vessel. Instead we just waited for the whales to pop up around us and they did so very closely to us! During the day the wind was picking up but we still found the whales in pretty much the same areas and enjoyed them all around. “Mary”, “Groot” and “Khaleesi” were among those humpies we got to see yesterday. I hope they’ll stick around here for a long time!

Tours: Classic: 9:00, 13:00, 17:00 and 20:30 Express: 10:00, 12:00 and 21:00

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Thursday, 20 June 2019

Today the weather was a bit grey, but luckily it did not rain and in the afternoon the sun even started shining in our beautiful fjord. We had to sail a bit further north then the last days, perhaps the fish have moved and the whales also need to go further north to find food.
During the trips we encountered 4 different humpback whales. All of these humpback whales we have encountered before on our trips and three have already received names, they are Moonshine, Khaleesi and Depill. Moonshine and Depill seem to be friends, since we have seen them swimming together several times already including today.

Tours: Classic: 9:00, 13:00, 17:00 and 20:30 Express: 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Ewa Malinowska

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

Cold northerly winds were once again blowing through the fjord so that almost everyone made use of our comfy overalls. Wrapped up and ready to spot some wildlife we left and soon found the whales in our regular spot. South of Hjalteyri they were still very active, feeding, diving and even breaching for over seven times. There must have been at least 6 humpback whales in the area! Of course Moonshine and other well-known favorite whales were paying our boats a visit and delighted us. Chilly, but fun times in Eyjafjördur!

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Tuesday, 18 June 2019

A wild, wet and windy day out on the fjord today, but this did not stop us from enjoying the whales. Our morning tours saw up to 5 different whales including Moonshine and Khaleesi who were travelling together and showing us some beautiful surface sequences. Our afternoon and evening tours saw even more whales including Mama and Romanov. Romanov was even seen in Akureyri harbour earlier on in the day too! So that even our ticket office staff could see the wonderful whales. Our express tours enjoyed very adventurous tours but they all seemed to thoroughly enjoying themselves and the whales.

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

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Monday, 17 June 2019

BBBBRREEEEAAACCCHHH Day here in the fjord. Even though the conditions were not the most promising today with temperatures falling, a rainy sky and wind blowing from the North, the day turned out to be extraordinary! On half of our tours we saw different humpback whales breaching, tail slapping and lobbing. Basically they were displaying almost every behaviour we know that humpback whales can do. One individual must have been breaching for about two hours straight and got other whales to join in. Depill, Mamma and Romanov were the greatest breachers of them all, propelling themselves above the sea surface completely. We simply watched in awe and could not believe how lucky we were. Whale watching day EXTRAORDINAIRE!

Departures today: CLASSIC 08:00, 09:00, 12:00, 13:00 & 17:00 EXPRESS 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 & 21:00

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Sunday, 16 June 2019

Oh you sunny Sunday, you treated us so well today with only a few clouds and a bit of fog in the morning. Last night we saw one of the biggest humpback whales we have ever seen in the fjord and this whale was still with us today. In total we saw at least 7 to 8 humpback whales as they were approaching us and showing off their beautiful flukes. It was truly amazing to see this many at once !

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

Photos by Rodrigo, text by Babsi & Viivi

Saturday, 15 June 2019

Perfect conditions awaited us today in the fjord. The seas were mirrow flat, the sky was blue and the sun shone warm in our faces. Many boats went out that day and many, many humpback whales were around, likely feeding. Oh what a great time we had, when one individual decided to go people watching. It swam right up to the boat and circled around us. This humpback whale is new for us, however, it has been seen in the greater Reykjavik area at the end of April 2019. Next to that, Depill, Moonshine and Groot were a few of the 7-8 humpback whales we could identify. Superb day and an awesome official start of our midnight tours.

Tours departed today: CLASSIC 9, 13, 17 & 20:30 EXPRESS 10, 12, 14

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Friday, 14 June 2019

Today it was mostly cloudy but during the day we managed to get a few peeks at the sun. The sea was almost flat which meant there was very little wind, making for very enjoyable sailing conditions. The whole day we did not have to travel far out to encounter our amazing humpback whales. In the first tour we found them just before Hjalteri and they actually moved into the fjord towards Akureyri during the day. We encountered a total of 7 humpbacks whales today. A few of them were resting, moving very slowly at the surface. For us this gave great opportunities to observe them and take pictures. Often they surfaced very close to the boat, sometimes giving us a bit of a surprise. It was a great day for enjoying our beautiful Eyjafjordur humpies.

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures Ewa Malinowska

Thursday, 13 June 2019

Today started quite rainy and windy but the rain stopped soon and the sun was shining for the rest of the day. The humpback whales were all in the same area South off the abandoned fishing factory Hjaltery, similar to yesterday. We barely had to move the ship; as soon as we arrived to that area, we slowed down and saw the whales popping up around us. The humpbacks seemed to be busy feeding and came up here and there, sometimes very close to the boat. It was lovely out there and our passengers as well as the crew had a great time!

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

Text by Hanna Michel, pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 12 June 2019

The humpback whales are still out and about in Eyjafjörður! This morning the sea was quite calm but got a bit rough during the day as the wind picked up. We saw 4-6 humpbacks on most tours today, feeding in the same area and coming up to the surface very regularly. Among those individuals was a very small one that must still be very young, possibly just a few years old. And also our regulars “Moonshine” and “Depill” were still around today! Great tours with our beloved whales and the sun shining over Akureyri and Eyjafjörður!

Departures today: Classic: 8:00, 09:00, 12:00, 13:00, 17:00 Express: 10:00, 13:00, 14:00

Text and pictures by Hanna Michel and Rodrigo Martinez

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

A stunningly sunny day on the fjord it was sunny, it was warm, there was a little wind but nothing unpleasant. It wasn’t long until we were delighted with cetaceans today. Humpbacks and harbour porpoises were seem on our tours today. There was at least 5 humpbacks seen on all tours, including Moonshine and a new, rather small whale that we have named Baby due to its small size. We believe this whale to be a juvenile and not quite 5 years old yet. With amazing conditions and lovely whales which delighted us throughout the tours we were very happy people. The whales surfaced around us and seemed to continue their natural behaviours without us disturbing them, which made the whole experience even more delightful.

Tours: Classic: 09:00, 13:00 & 17:00 Express: 10:00 & 14:00

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Monday, 10 June 2019

We had first day of summer in Akureyri with shining sun and 18'C! Morning tour was amazing, with perfectly flat sea and whales clearly enjoying this conditions as much as we did. We saw two minke whales, few harbour porpoises and of course humpback whales. It becoming crowdy here in the fjord as we counted today 6 different humpback! In afternoon wind was a little bit stronger but not enough to complain about weather. Humpbacks were still in the same spot and we had a lot of fun when this huge animals were just coming to the surface all around places, making us running from one side of the boat to another. We even got to see some tail slaps.

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

Text and photos: Ewa Malinowska, Rodrigo Martinez Catalan

Sunday, 9 June 2019

When they say “mirror-flat state” it couldn’t be more accurate. Eyjafjordur woke up today with the most perfect sea conditions ever plus wildlife was in our side as well. A minke whale was spotted after the beautiful village of Svalbardseyri but the starts of the show were our beloved humpback whales. They were as friendly as ever, getting close to us in a way that it seemed to be like a Sunday greeting towards us. We couldn’t be more happy around these animals.

Tours: Classic 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 - Express: 10:00, 12:00, 14:00

Pictures and text by Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan

Saturday, 8 June 2019

What a day to be out on the fjord today! All of our tours were jam packed full of whales today. Humpback whales delighted us with some exceptional surfacings today, they were super relaxed and came up very close to the boats many times. On all tours at least 4-5 whales were coming up, some together and some apart, there wasnt a dull moment today. Regulars such as Depill and Moonshine were around as well as 3 new whales to the fjord. Along with the fantastic surfacings, fluking and blows we were suprised with some wonderful tail lobbing or peduncle throws which was thrilling to watch. Our 13 classic tour were also fortunate enough to witness a breach! When a whale leaped right out of the water. What an incredible day!

Tours - Classic: 0900, 13:00 & 17:00, Express 10:00 & 14:00

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Friday, 7 June 2019

What a beautiful day we have had today! We woke up with clear and blue skies plus no wind and a decent temperature for an Icelandic summer. Sun-cream was mandatory today as well as sun glasses but not because of the sun but because of the amount of smiles on-board. Humpbacks kept on showing up very close to us and they gave us nice encounters. We hope that the whole summer is gonna be like today because it was wonderful.

Tours: Classic 10:00, 13:00 Express: 10:00, 14:00

Text and pictures by Tess Hudson and Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan