Tryggvi Scheving Thorsteinsson participated in schooner Opal’s first expedition in Scoresbysund from 24th to 31st of July. The explorers visited the village Ittoqqortoormiit and Tryggvi found that to be an interesting experience. “You can sense the isolation when you walk around the village. When you go there you get a feeling, which is hard…
DetailsSchooner Opal is sailing towards its home port of Húsavík after an excellent season in Scoresbysund, NE-Greenland. Opal´s crew and owners are proud and happy. In seven week long tours around the Scoresbysund fjord system, Opal has carried her passengers to some of the most exotic places on Earth. Magnificent, unforgettable and unique are…
DetailsSince we encountered so many humpback whales the day before, we were surprised to have a hard job to find any whales this morning. We had to sail in the northwestern part of Skjálfandi Bay until we spotted a humpback whale. It travelled a lot and it required some patience to get closer looks at…
DetailsDue to bad weather conditions we had to cancel our tours yesterday. Fortunately the wind calmed down today, although the swell was still quite high and there was even fresh snow on top of the mountains in the western part of the bay. The day after the storm is always exciting, because we don’t know…
DetailsToday started a bit cloudy, but pretty soon the sky cleared and it was very calm and quite warm. The humpback meeting went on! We encountered at least six humpback whales in the middle of Skjálfandi Bay. Some of them surfaced very close together. In the afternoon two humpback whales came very close to our…
DetailsToday the sun was hidden behind the clouds but the sea was as flat as a mirror – best conditions for whale watching! On our first tour in the morning it took us some time to find the whales: they were much further southwest than in the previous days. But as soon as we spotted…
DetailsToday was pretty similar to yesterday: Still fantastic weather conditions with the wind coming from the south, still lots of humpback whales around and today, we also spotted the white-beaked dolphins on most of our tours. There are still four humpback whales swimming together in a group and three of these humpback whales have been…
DetailsWe have had amazing whale watching conditions today: The weather was beautiful, the sea really calm and the number of humpback whales in the bay seems to increase day after day. Today there have been at least six humpback whales within a small area in the northern part of the bay and on all our…
DetailsOnce again this day was a wonderful day for whale watching! Unlike the last couple of days it was quite warm and the sea was calm. Yesterday reminded us, that the whales are sometimes very unpredictable. Some of our passengers had been on the boat yesterday when we didn’t see any whales and they were…
DetailsUnlike the weather forecast his Thursday started foggy and the sea was quite rough. But what surprised us most was the fact that we didn’t find any whales in the morning! Our boats spread throughout the bay, but none of them was successful. Fortunately conditions changed completely in the afternoon. The wind calmed down, it…
DetailsThe schooner Opal has been cruising around Scoresbysund, the largest fjord in the world, on the northeast coast of Greenland for the last six weeks, exploring the natural wonders of the area. Opal takes a group of passengers, up to twelve people, on a week-long expedition around Scoresbysund and has every single trip been…
DetailsThe weather is still great in Húsavík these days: Flat sea, sunshine and about 10°C. And also the whales are still here: On all tours today we have spotted some very nice humpback whales and on most tours also the white-beaked dolphins have been present in good numbers. In these great weather conditions it is…
DetailsNorth Sailing received a grant recently from the Icelandic Ministry of Interior for the project “Regenerative electric engine in a ship”. This subvention is being granted for the first time in order to support projects that aim to increase the utilization of domestic energy sources in ships and therefore decrease the usage of fossil fuels, enhance…
DetailsThis morning the sea was unexpected rough, due to strong wind from the north. Nevertheless we spotted a humpback whale – one of our “old friends” that stay in Skjálfandi Bay since several days and that has been observed also earlier this season. Furthermore we encountered a group of white beaked dolphins. They approached…
DetailsToday we had the chance to encounter whales that showed completely different behaviors. In the morning we spotted three humpback whales – we met all of them yesterday already. They surfaced many times and we got some wonderful looks at them. But when we decided to turn the boat and start heading back to Húsavík,…
DetailsThe polar storm we had yesterday calmed down during the night, being replaced by a smooth southern breeze in the morning. It didn’t take long before we could sight our first blows, and we had many close looks at some humpback whales. At one moment, one of them was lying on its side and waving with…
DetailsThe weather forecast announced a snow storm for tomorrow. On the mountains, the grazing sheep are being brought down to the valleys. And today at sea, we could already feel the beginnings of the storm. Polar breeze blowing from Greenland made feel the bay somewhat chilly. Except for the fulmars, the so-called “storm-birds”, no sign of life was…
DetailsBefore we sail out into Skjálfandi Bay, I always remember the passengers that we enter the territory of the animals. So we are only the visitors and that of course means we can never influence anything. But today again we got the proof that this is also the exciting part of it, because we never…
DetailsToday we had perfect whale watching conditions: The sea was very flat and calm and the bright sun provided late-summer temperatures. In the morning we set the course in north-westerly direction. In the middle of the bay we encountered a minke whale and spent some time with this elegant animal. When we sailed further, we…
DetailsToday was an absolutely fantastic whale watching day here in Skjálfandi Bay! We had beautiful weather conditions when we left the harbour onboard “Náttfari” at 10:00 this morning: The sea was really flat, and the sun was shining for most of the tour. And we were also lucky with the whales: We were watching a…
DetailsToday the weather was wonderful: Due to no wind the sea was completely flat and visibility was very good. In addition to that, it was sunny and unusual warm. In the morning we sailed into the area where we spotted the whales yesterday, very close to the mountains in the western part of Skjálfandi Bay.…
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