Wednesday, 31 July 2019

Today was a beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine so no need for overalls! During the first tour we encountered a group of white beaked dolphins. They had a lot of young calves with them and luckily for us they stayed quite close to the boat while chasing fish. So we managed to get several good looks when the whole group surfaced together.
In the afternoon we did not manage to find these dolphins or other cetaceans in the fjord. Therefore we handed out complimentary tickets to the passengers so they can try again for free in the next 2 years. Hopefully they will be able to see some of the amazing wildlife swimming around Iceland next time.

Luckily we were successful again in the evening, far north we found a humpback whale surrounded by white beaked dolphins. Whale was very far therefore we had to end the day in Dalvik and once again combine sailing with bus ride.

Departures: Classic 9, 13, 17 and 20:30 Express 10 and 21

Text Anouk de Plaa, photos by Rodrigo Martinez Catalan

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Unbelievable day in the fjord with flat seas, zero wind and great visibility with an impressive landscape. We had the perfect ingredients to enjoy a lovely day in the fjord and we did. We spotted some interesting birds such as northern fulmars, northern divers and arctic terns, but the attention was set over our beloved cetaceans. In the menu today we had harbour porpoises and a very curious minke whale which approached to our vessels constantly so we could take a good look at its beautiful body. Overall, it was a great day to be out there.

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

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

Monday, 29 July 2019

Hottest day of the year so far!! We had some beautiful conditions out on the water, little wind and a flat fjord for our morning tour, during the day the swell rose a little but nothing too bad. We got to enjoy some beautiful bird life on all tours including northern fulmars, arctic terns, arctic skuas and black guillemots. Cetaceans were also seen including some beautiful harbour porpoises who surfaced quickly for us. Two minke whales were also seen on most tours, who surfaced very nicely bringing up their wonderful streamlined bodies as they did so. Another lovely day out on the fjord.

Tours today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00, 12:00 & 16:00

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

Sunday, 28 July 2019

The day started so beautiful - a lot of sunshine, no wind and very calm sea conditions. It was the perfect day to head out into the fjord to search for whales and dolphins. Further out, it got a bit more rocky on the ship because of some rolling waves from the open ocean. It took us a rather long time today but eventually we came across a minke whale! In the flat conditions we got to sea it very well, it was surfacing always pretty close by and once it even became curious and surfaced just a few meters away from us as and swam by very slowly as if it wanted to have a look at us - great experience! A few harbour porpoises were also around here and there and those who were quick enough got to see them as well. Out afternoon tour was less lucky. Not only did the sun hide behind some thick clouds, also the rolling waves had gotten a bit bigger and some people did not enjoy the rolling of the boat very much. Our luck regarding cetaceans changed as well and, unfortunately, we did not sea any whales or dolphins during the tour. Therefore, we offered all passengers on board a complimentary ticket to join on of our tours again within the next two years. These tickets can also be used for a tour with out sister company in Reykjavik.

Text by Hanna Michel, photos by Tess Hudson

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

Saturday, 27 July 2019

Saturdays are always good days to sail. We enjoyed beautiful conditions today in the fjord as we had a mirror-like sea surface and great visibility. Clouds were making a magical effect, creating a nice atmosphere in the fjord. In terms of sightings, we had ups and downs as we spotted early in the morning a humpback whale well-known by our team, “Aretha Frankfin”, but later on it seems that most of the whales moved out of the fjord. Nonetheless, we had an incredible day sailing.

Departures today: Classic 9, 13 and 17, Express 10, 12, 14 and 16

Text and pictures by Rodrigo A. Martinez Catalan

Friday, 26 July 2019

Today was a very rainy day and unfortunately the views of the fjord were not very good. During the morning tour we were searching for a long time but in the end we encountered two minke whales. We only managed to see them surfacing a few times before we had to turn back and head to Akureyri. During the afternoon tour we did not manage to find any cetaceans but during both tours there were different species of birds around so we managed to see some wildlife.
During both tours we offered complimentary tickets to the passengers, which they can use to go whale watching again from Akureyri or Reykjavik for free. Our express tours were a bit more fortunate on the morning tour and were able to enjoy two minke whales who surfaced beautifully, many times.

Departures today: Classic 9, 13 and 17, Express 10 and 12

Text by Anouk de Plaa and Tess Hudson, pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 25 July 2019

Once again we were starting our classic tours with a bus ride to Dalvik, turning this extra effort in higher chances of seeing cetaceans. Mouth of the fjord is more exposed to the wind and as an extra adventure we were going up and down with waves. Like a real vikings we faced bravely this conditions to enjoy sightings of white-beaked dolphins in the morning and evening tours and a humpback whale on each departure. Morning tour was special thanks to big pod of dolphins which were jumping like crazy and in the evening one humpback whale after closer look turned out to be two whales travelling in synchrony.

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

Text and photos by Ewa Malinowska

Wednesday, 24 July 2019

Once again we decided to depart from Dalvik, and once again, that was the right call, since we found the whales very up north, nearly outside of the fjord. So despite of all the logistics, it has been a great whalewatching day! In the morning we saw one Humpback whale very close from us at the same time than a group of White-beaked dolphins. It even looked like the dolphins were disturbing the whale. In the afternoon we saw lots of dolphins on our way to the whale, and from the distance we could even see another whale breaching out of the water! It is also remarkable the amount of Atlantic Puffins that we have in the northern part of the fjord right now.

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

Text and photos by Albert Camara

Tuesday, 23 July

Our first tour of the day departed from Dalvik. We sailed towards north and spotted a large pod of White beaked dolphins, the most common dolphin of North Atlantic. This group was swimming fast, jumping and breaching a lot, and they gave us a good show.

Next tour departed from Akureyri and we did a long trip until we reached the east coast of the island Hrísey. The long sailing was worth it because in this area we encountered a Humpback whale. The flat and calm sea allowed us to enjoy this animal surfacing a few times. We could see the underside of its fluke and we know that is the same whale we saw yesterday more up north.

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

Text by Barbara Hintermayer & Photos by Albert Camara

Monday, 22 July 2019

Today was a beautiful calm day with very smooth water. For both the morning and the afternoon classic tour we departed from Dalvik and we encountered a large pod of white beaked dolphins. While enjoying the dolphins we spotted a blow from a humpback whale. The animal was spending little time at the surface but luckily we managed to see it several times before it was time to go home.
In the afternoon tour we encountered two humpback whales and one of them decided to put on an incredible show for us by jumping out of the water and slapping its tail and flippers on the water surface. While this whale was playing around, a pod of white beaked dolphins showed up. Unfortunately our 5.00 PM was a little bit trickier, as the whales kept traveling north so we were not able to spot any cetaceas. Luckyly for us, we compensated with a 20.30 tour where we found more dolphins and a majestic humpback whale breaching in the midnight sun!
A wonderful day on the water!

Departures today: Classic: 09:00, 13:00, 17:00 & 20:30 Express: 12:00, 16:00 & 21:00

Text Anouk de Plaa and pictures by Barbara Hintermayer

Sunday, 21 July 2019

After having a very busy day yesterday, all tours today started from Dalvik. In the morning, we actually headed South (in the direction of Akureyri) after another whale watching company had informed us about a humpback whale that they had spotted South of the island of Hrisey. We headed towards them and on our way came across a minke whale! We saw the animal a couple of times but lost track of it soon and continued our search for the humpback whale. After a short whale we did see it when it came up to the surface again and then we realised that it was actually two humpback whales! They were not the easiest individuals, going for 10 min dives but we did get some good looks at them as they were lifting their tails high up.. well, at least one of them. In the afternoon, our Captain decided to head North instead and we came across a different humpback whale. It took us a while to get closer to the animal but we saw it very well a few times and in the end it surfaced a few times right off the bow of our vessel!

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

Text and photos by Hanna Michel

Saturday, 20 July 2019

This morning, on our first tour, the conditions in the fjord couldn’t be better. The water surface was like a mirror, the sun was shinning and there was no wind. The sailing and the views were amazing and the perfect visibility allowed us to spot some harbour porpoises during our way up. We reached the island of Hrísey where we could enjoy two pods of white-beaked dolphins, some of them females with their calves. This acrobatic dolphins gave us a really good time, jumping and coming up around our boat. On the Express tour with the RIB boat, we had an encounter with a humpback whale next to Grenivik. In the evening we had more wind and also more rough sea. We could see a lot of bird activity but this time, unfortunately, we did not spot any cetaceans in our tour, and we offered a second chance for our passengers to join us again.

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

Text by Barbara Hintermayer, Pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Friday, 19 July 2019

Weather conditions sometimes make our job very difficult. Today has been a very cold day, as well as rainy and windy. Early in the morning we decided to depart from Dalvik, further up north of our fjord Eyjafjordur. And it was the right call. Even when the wind was blowing very strongly from north and the sea was a bit rough, we managed to find a single humpback whale south of Hrisey island. At the beginning it was not easy to be observed, since only a few of our guests could see it, but after a while waiting and with a little bit of patience and persistence, we managed to have very close encounters with this individual. Unfortunately, we tried again in the afternoon with less luck. At least we saw a few harbor porpoises swimming close to our boat. We all hope tomorrow we will have better weather conditions!

Text and pictures by Albert Camara

Thursday, 18 July 2019

The ever changing weather Iceland is so known for, did make its appearance today in the fjord. From sun over rain to strong winds, we were able to experience it all. Sailing took us quite some time till we could reach the area where we spotted our first cetaceans. To the East side of Hrisey we got to see a minke and one humpback whale. Good looks of fluke and dorsal fins were possible, but not the easiest. Hence, we had to be quite active in moving around the boats. Nevertheless, we truly enjoyed being out and about with whales in sight. The weather is expected to change a lot during the next few days and with it we hope for a change in the quantity of cetaceans we are currently seeing. After all, it is summer and the main season for whales, dolphins and porpoises around Iceland. In hopes for more sightings further out in the fjord, the evening tours left from Dalvik, a village North of Akureyri. We saw a relatively large group of white-beaked dolphins with lots of calves but left them soon to find some bigger cetaceans. However, our time was limited and the sea conditions further out where we were expecting humpback whales deteriorated during the tour and did not allow us to go as far as we wanted. On our way back, we tried to find the dolphins again but as they were not in the same area anymore, we decided to offer all our passengers complimentary tickets so they can join us on another tour for free with hopefully better sightings, either in Akureyri or Reykjavik.

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

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 17 July 2019

An amazing adventure filled day today. Our morning speed boat departure left from Akureyri and zoomed all the way out passed Hrisey and found an amazing Humpback Whale who showed us some amazing surfacing´s, it even breached! Then began surface feeding! Coming up with humongous mouth wide open, allowing us to see its incredible baleen plates. The waves began to swell and the sea became a bit rough on our next tour but that did not stop us from seeing some beautiful whales, we got to witness more breaches and even a few white-beaked dolphins. It was a very wild and wet tour but very enjoyable. Our classic tours got a view of the wild side too and enjoyed some wonderful harbour porpoises.

Today´s departures: Classic: 09:00, 13:00 & 20:30 Express: 10:00 & 12:00

Pictures and text by Tess Hudson

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