This morning we left the harbour at 11:00 onboard the sailing schooner Haukur. I had already been guiding on Haukur several times last year, but it was the first time for me this season, so I was looking forward to the tour. I went out with captain Heimir and we set the course north-west into…
A breaching humpback whale was spotted today. I didn’t count how many times, but if I had to guess I would say at least 30 times in one tour. It was just absolutely amazing! Pictures say more than words… Damien Saffroy took this fantastic picture. Guide Þorbjörg
At our 10:00 and 13:30 trips today we saw 3 Humpback Whales that were extremely relaxed and friendly. On several occasions one of them swam close to our boat while the other two swam in perfect synchronicity further off. The weather was really wonderful, the sun shining and calm seas. Among our guests was a…
Today I went on two tours on Garðar. The first tour was great, the weather was good although it was cold and we found a delightful humpback whale. The second tour was not as good, the weather was getting worse and the wind was picking up so the waves were getting very high, but we…
When we were heading out this morning we had some news of a killer whale in the bay. At first I almost didn’t believe what I was hearing because the killer whale isn’t so common at this time a year in Skjálfandibay but we soon found out for ourselves that this was very true. We got quite…
Today I went out on the 13:30 tour with captain Hrólfur and engineer Garðar on boat Garðar. After following some white beaked dolphins for a while, we headed to the area where we had been watching a humpback whale on our erlier tour and there we found him – but he surely was on the…
Tonight I went out on Náttfari with over 50 passengers, captain Hrólfur, engineer Tomaz and two crew members that were actually off duty! Yes, I must say, very enthusiastic staff we have! Captain Már and guide Christian decided to go whale watching on their night off… and just that leaves me wondering: This must be…
Today the bay was silky smooth or “smooth like a mirror” like we Icelanders say and the weather was ideal for wale watching. It was cloudy but warm and there was almost no wind. Assistant guide Ísak found the first whale in the 10 o’clock tour and it was a minke whale. Then there came…
Today I went out at 14:00 in beautiful weather conditions on a special tour with the participants of the “Ice Climate Education Camp” on our sailing schooner Haukur. We sailed out of the harbour together with Dagmar Aaen that left Húsavík harbour to set course towards Greenland. It took us just a few minutes to…
The last few days have been strange in many ways. The bigger whales have not been as prominent as the weeks before, but the smaller species have blossomed instead. Minkes, Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises have been exceptionally calm and the weather has really helped out, it has been very sunny and warm. The Minke whales…
Today I went out on schooner Haukur for the 11 o’clock tour, which has been set up as an extra tour these last days, with captain Alli and some 18 enthusiastic whale watchers. This was my first trip this season on one of the schooners, but usually they are used for the longer tours; Whales,…
Today I went out on the 15.30 tour with fully loaded Náttfari. When boarding the passengers, one of them draw my attention more than others! That was my old friend Elsa María, who started working at North Sailing’s the same year I did, in 2001, and later on even holding the title of a head…
Garðar, the biggest boat of our fleet has finally gotten the permits to use the capacity for as many passenger as she should carry. Therefore, the 10:00 trip today was an historical one, never before has North Sailing sailed with so many passengers in one vessel. Well over 130 people, and a crew counting six,…
Today I went out on an extra trip at eleven o’clock on Haukur with capt. Hjörleifur. When we left the harbour we heard from the other boats that a humpback whale had been spotted quite far north so we immediately started heading north. By the time we got to where the the whale had been…
Today I had a first. It’s amazing that even I, having worked as a whale watching guide for almost three years now, am still having firsts on our trips. Today was the first time I saw a humpback whale spy-hopping. I went out at 10:00 with captain Hreiðar, deckhand Kormákur and a boatful of passengers.…
Today started a little problematically because of the Sail Húsavík festival that is going on these days. There are so many boats in the harbour that the boat I was going out on had to go to another place in the harbour than usually and there was some problem getting people off and on board.…
Visiting Puffin Island was amazing today. I don’t think I have ever seen so many puffins in, and around, the island. Here are two pictures that Felix, deckhand on Hildur, took during one of our tours today. Halla Marín, guide.
Today I spent more time at sea than on dry land (which is how I like it) and I had two marvelous trips, first on Hildur this morning and then on Haukur in the afternoon, on our “Whales, Puffins and Sails” tours. Both trips were great! A blue whale, a humpback whale and dolphins are…
When we headed out, on our boat Garðar, for the ten o’clock trip the conditions were quite good. After about half an hour we found a humpback whale, this one lifted the fluke really high. It came up several of times pretty close to us but we decided to leave it to take a look at…
Todays weather was great, as it has been the last few days. This is a great change from June which was cold and wet. The whales are still here and today I saw two humpback whales, a blue whale and a lot of white-beaked dolphins. We got word from the other boats that there were…
This headline is a phrase I use every time at the beginning of every trip. I also like to use the phrase: “It’s like a throwing a dice, you never know which side will turn up.” This is so true about whale watching. You might start off in excellent weather hoping the best and return…
