North Sailing and Aurora Arktika announce partnership in Jökulfirðir New alternative, more space and increased comfort for passengers Focus on self sustainability and respect for the environment For 10 years, Aurora Arktika has offered organized ski- and sailing tours in Jökulfirðir as well as adventure tours to Westfjords, Jan Mayen and the east coast of…
Sailing ships Opal and Donna Wood have departed for Greenland. The ships left Húsavík harbour yesterday and are headed for Scoresby Sound. Electrically powered sailing ship Opal on the left, and sailing ship Donna Wood on the right ©Christian Harboe-Hansen Captain Heimir Harðarson reported today that the trip is going well and all systems…
Today marks a milestone in eco-friendly transportation as the newly transformed electrically powered schooner Opal embarks on her first whale watching tour. With the outer appearance of a traditional gaff-rigged sailing ship, the vessel is without a doubt the most technologically advanced ship in the North Sailing fleet. Among guests of the renewed Opal’s virgin…
Schooner Opal North Sailing is formally launching the electrically driven sailing ship, Opal. Húsavík – Sunday, 12 July, from 14:00-15:00 o’clock. Electrical motor installed North Sailing, along with a team of Icelandic and Nordic collaborators, has developed a new, specially designed Regenerative Plug-in Hybrid-Electric Propulsion system. The electrical system will later be installed…
North Sailing, a small whale watching company from the tiny fishing village of Husavík on the edge of the Arctic Circle is braving the waves of innovation to make trips to the dockside gas pump a thing of the past for the world’s marine and yachting industry. On July 12th North Sailing Husavík launches the…
The sailing ship Donna Wood, North Sailing´s newest fleet member set sails for Jan Mayen earlier this week with a group of researchers from St. Andrews University. The research group´s main goal is to research bottlenose whales. A report from captain Christian states that many “bottlenose whales have been spotted. Humpbacks, sperm whale and minkis have…
The oak sailing ship Donna Wood arrives in Húsavík harbour tomorrow afternoon, May 17th. The ship will be open to viewing shortly after arrival and light snacks will be served in Restaurant Gamli Baukur at 16:00 pm to celebrate the newest addition to the North Sailing fleet. Donna Wood is latest addition to the North…
Donna Wood is now midway between Shetlands islands and the Faroye Islands. We received a status report from the crew stating that the trip from Skagen in Denmark to the Shetlands islands was favourable in terms of winds and sailing conditions. The crew weathered off a storm in Lerwick in the Shetland islands for a…
The sailing ship Donna Wood, recently purchased by North Sailing is en route to Iceland. The trip is going well and the ship sailed in to port Lerwick in the Shetland islands at around 10 am yesterday morning. Sailing ship Donna Wood is the newest addition to the North Sailing fleet of oak ships.
Due to a labour strike in Iceland – only two whale wathing tours (NS-1) )are scheduled today (May 7th) from Húsavík. Departures are at 10:00 and 13:30. The price for the tour is 9.300 ISK for adults and 3.800 ISK for 7-15 years. Passengers under 7 years are free of charge. Further…
Due to a labour strike in Iceland – only two whale wathing tours are scheduled today from Húsavík. All tours (NS-1 & NS-2) are combined to Whales, Puffins and Sails (NS-2). Departures are at 10:00 and 14:30. The price for the tour is 9.300 ISK for adults and 3.800 ISK for 7-15 years.…
The last oak plank in Opal´s refurbishment is in place in the ships hull. A great deal of work has been undertaken to restore the ageing 64 years old traditional sailing ship to full strength – while at the same time installing a unique Regenerative Plug-in Hybrid Propulsion system. Supports hold the plank in place…
It´s not exactly what one would first think of as a sign of a good summer, but Icelandic folklore says different. A view from Café Hvalbakur terrace – overlooking Gamli Baukur Restaurant The story goes like this: If winter and summer frees together, the summer will be good. Perhaps this is a part of…
North Sailing presented recent developments last Friday, 17 April in Reykjavík, for travel agencies in Reykjavík and people from the tourism industry. Birna Lind Björnsdóttir and Árni Sigurbjarnarson Birna Lind Björnsdóttir, Head of Sales and Communication, presented North Sailing’s product range and on-going projects. Árni Sigurbjarnarson, one of the owners of North Sailing,…
North Sailing had a fantastic trip yesterday afternoon. A minke whale, humpbacks, harbour porpoises and puffins greeted the guests and crew in excellent weather conditions. Humpback posing for the camera in North Sailing trip yesterday Þóra Katrín, the guide of the trip reported the first sightings after about 45 minutes of sailing. “A (nice)…
The humpback is back in Skjálfandi Bay after a long winter in the Caribbean Sea. First animals were sighted yesterday on North Sailing´s oak ship Náttfari. © Hörður Jónasson – A photo taken yesterday of a humpback in Skjálfandi Bay The humpback whale, 11-19 m in length, is a baleen whale, like the…
As part of the installment of a new unique Regenerative Plug-in Hybrid Propulsion system in the sailing ship Opal, North Sailing ship builders at the Húsavík shipyard faced a tough challenge. Traditional Sailing ship Opal How to get the 1.5 ton electric motor down into the engine room of the 64 years old oak ship…
Crew and passengers on board the whale watching boat Náttfari spotted a blue whale just before 11:00 am today. Blue whale diving According to captain Már Eyfjörð Höskuldsson, the blue whale seems to be feeding in the bay. Skjálfandi bay is one of the few places in Iceland where the blue whale – this…
North Sailing recently purchased two VW e-Golf electric cars in accordance with the company´s environmental policy. The cars will be used by the sales office in Reykjavík and the main office in Húsavík. From left: Birna Lind Björnsdóttir sales manager at North Sailing, Árni Þorsteinsson sales manager for VW cars at Hekla dealership and Heimir…
Today, March 20th at 09:41 am, a Solar Eclipse of around 98% was viewable from North Iceland. This was the darkest Eclipse in Iceland for more then 60 years or since 1954. The next one of this magnitude is in the year 2026. Sailing ship Hildur leaving Húsavík harbour at 8:30 for the Solar Eclipse…
North Sailing has changed the name of the product Edge of the Arctic Whale Watching to Grímsey Arctic Circle Whale Watching. North Sailing marketing manager Gústaf Gústafsson reports that the new name better describes the essence of the product. Grímsey Arctic Circle Whale Watching is a 3 day/2 night sailing expedition whale watching tour that…
