Calming down

After the exciting day yesterday today everthing seemed to calm down. The first visitors rush after the storm decreased and throughout the day also the sea got calm and flat again, although there was still some swell – the aftermath of the stormy conditions two days ago. We went out and sailed into the western…

Whales in the wind

The weather in Skjálfandi bay has not been at its best for the last couple of days and this morning it was still very windy and the waves were high. Because of that we unfortunately had to cancel our morning tours. Around noon the wind calmed down and we were finally able to go out!…

Dolphins under the rainbow

After enjoying days of sunshine and calm sea, it was a gray Wednesday morning in Skjálfandi Bay when our boat Náttfari sailed out of Húsavík harbour.   The boat set course towards Lundey Island – the puffin colony of Skjálfandi Bay – to explore the territory for whales and bird life.   At first, passengers…

Challenging conditions

Once again we got the proof that the weather conditions in Iceland can change very quickly. Yesterday it was warm and sunny, today we got rain and increasing wind from the north. In addition to that it was quite foggy, so kind of a challenge for us to find some wildlife. All the boats headed…

Spotting the smaller species

Today it was incredibly warm again. The summerly temperatures in combination with light wind from the south fits rather to the Caribbean than to Iceland! The surface water temperature in the bay is unusually high – up to 16°C! This might also affect the availability of the whales’ food sources and thus the presence of…

A perfect day!

Wow, what a day was today! It was exciting from the very beginning and it’s actually quite hard to decide where to start. First of all – the weather was perfect again! It was sunny, calm and very warm. We just left the harbor when we spotted some harbor porpoises. But we didn’t stop for…

Behavioral studies

It’s summer in Húsavík! Today it was sunny, windless and incredibly warm. We went on the boat dressed in T-shirts, without our hats, sweaters and jackets we’re wearing usually! How great is that!? So perfect conditions for a wonderful whale watching day. And also the whales were awesome. We encountered a humpback whale in the…

Blue whales are back

As we headed to the bay this morning, once again we did not know what to expect. We decided to head towards North where we were hoping to find something. After quite a while we spotted a big spout further north. Now we set the course there. Soon we also realized that this was not…

Sunday afternoon show

Once again we had a very succesful whale watching day! In the morning we just left the harbor when we spotted some harbor porpoises. But since these animals are very shy and usually try to avoid the boat we sailed further west, where we encountered a humpback whale. It was very calm and relaxed, spending…

Calm whales on a busy day

This weekend started quite sunny and it was warm, even out at sea. The good weather was probably one of the reasons why so many tourists went out with us to enjoy the stunning nature of Skjálfandi Bay and of course to watch some wildlife. During the previous days we usually encountered the whales far…

Let's go north!

During the last couple of days (and also today) the main whale activity has been quite far out, in the northern part of the bay, about 9 miles away from Húsavík. That means that we have had to sail for about one hour towards the north, until we arrived in the area where we usually…

Four species on one trip!

The weather conditions were really nice when we left Húsavík harbour this morning onboard our biggest vessel “Garðar”: The sun was shining, there was a light southerly wind, and the sea was also very calm. As the main whale activity had been quite far out in the northern part of the bay, we immediately set…