A bit of everything

It was my first working day for this season and Iceland gave me a great welcome – by giving me a perfect performance of the changing weather conditions, which are typical for this region. In the morning the sea was very calm, it was sunny and the excellent visibility enabled us to spot the whales…

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Summer is coming…..

The last days have been really good for whale watching here in Skjálfandi Bay. We have seen whales on all our trips and it is just really nice to see the increasing number of wildlife her in the bay. We have been seeing more and more humpback and minke whales and on some tours, we…

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Donna Wood arrives in Húsavík harbour

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…

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Donna Wood report

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…

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Donna Wood is en route to Iceland

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.

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The patience did pay off!

We decided to go out on our 10:00 despite bad weather, low temperatures, wind and waves. More than 20 brave people joined us for that tour on our boat Náttfari. In conditions like this it´s much harder to spot whales but after a long search we finally managed to locate a mighty humpback whale which…

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Two whale watching tours today

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…

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A very curious minke whale…

Today has been a wonderful day for whale watching here in Skjálfandi Bay. On all our trips we managed to find both humpback and minke whales in flat sea conditions. During the tour at 13:30 we had a simply amazing encounter with a very friendly and curious minke whale who decided to check out our…

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A humpback whale and good weather

  Today we had good conditions for whale watching. The sea was calm and we managed to find a humpback whale in all four tours.   We went out four times today in pretty good conditions. Even though it’s getting closer to summer we still have cold weather, so it’s very important to dress warmly…

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The last plank in Opal´s refurbishment is in place

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…

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A sign of a good summer

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…

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North Sailing presents an electric future

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,…

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An excellent day for whale watching

Yesterday was a perfect day for whale watching. We had an amazing weather, searching conditions were excellent and plenty of wildlife in the bay.   On our first tour at 10:00 h yesterday morning we saw five minke whales within half an hour of sailing. They were all in the same area so every direction…

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Humpback, minke whale, harbour porpoise and puffins in one trip

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)…

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The Humpback is back in Skjálfandi Bay

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…

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Electric motor challenge at the shipyard

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…

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