Monday, 20 May 2024

The sea conditions were flat today all the way up to Hjalteyri where we started to encounter a significant swell. There was mixed rain throughout the day with a cloudy sky.

In total, today we saw 3 Minke Whales and 4 Humpback Whales. All the Minkes were around the area between Svalbarðseyri and the Green Buoy. At one point during the morning, we had 2 of the whales surfacing together in sync at the surface, a very rare sight for this species of whale. One individual, a particularly large Minke, was seen actively feeding at the surface with expanded ventral pleats on show. All the Humpbacks were further North than this, one seen North of Hjalteyri in the morning and then moving South for the afternoon, and the other three spread out around the Southern point of Hrisey. These whales also all demonstrated surface-feeding behaviour with the occasional lunge and many surface-straining bouts. We also observed frequent feeding on the side as the whales surfaced displaying their pectoral fins high in the air. One memorable encounter was with a Humpback surfacing from the below the boat, we could see the whale on its climb towards the surface for what felt like at least 20 seconds. The water was so clear that we could see the whale with its mouth open swimming up below us before closing its mouth and squeezing out the water as it broke the surface. This really was a special encounter!

Text & Photos: Mac & Gisela & Lenka

Departures: Classic - 0900, 1000, 1330 & 1700 O’Clock. Express - 0900, 1000, 1400 & 1600 O’Clock.