Those are the first days of a new year. We all look forward to the next summer, but before leaving last year behind we would like to go over what happened at Gentle Giants during the 2010 season. It was, except for all the wonderful whale encounters, also a summer with threatening ash and a visiting walrus.
Next season is getting closer and only a few months left until our 10th season starts. All updates for next summer have been published online under Tours and Bookings, or download our Sales Manual 2011 below.
Another good season has come to an end and this morning I had my last tour on Sylvia for this year. Minkes and dolphins and nice autumn weather. Overall this summer has been good and thousands of passengers have sailed out on Skjálfandi Bay looking at the Gentle Giants of the ocean.
Unusual for this time of year but true – we are still seeing a humpback whale here in Skjálfandi bay! Warm southerly winds those days, with good conditions for whale watching. Until 30th September we will offer daily whale watching tours from Húsavík harbour.
This morning I had one of my best humpback encounters so far this summer. After spending some time with a minke whale, I spotted a big blow in the distance. The humpback was found. When we approached the animal it appeared to be very calm and not bothered at all with our presence.
One of the humpbacks that we spotted some days ago has still been around the bay, and was again spotted this morning. This time it was feeding calmly and then suddenly it completely breached out of the water.
Yet another season is nearing to an end and preparations for the next one go into full swing. One important annual event is the Vestnorden Travel Mart, which Gentle Giants attended earlier this week. Vestnorden is organised in collaboration of three North Atlantic islands; Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland.
„Keep your expectations low until we see something,“ I told my passengers onboard Sylvía when entering the world of Skjálfandi bay this morning. None of us had any idea what would be waiting out there for us.
A blue whale was recently found dead on a beach in Skagafjörður, on the northwest coast of Iceland. Those are big news as it is very rare to find a dead blue whale on shore. Finding stranded whales around the Icelandic coast is not uncommon.
