The month of June has offered everything a whale watcher can dream of; many, big and active whales, a lot of flat sea and great weather. Flatey Island in Skjálfandi Bay reached a temperature of 23,1°c which is the highest in the country so far this year.
The sea was flat and the sun was shining yesterday. Cruising the bay was a pleasure in itself, and even better it got when a blue whale was spotted. They are spectacular because of their size and this one even raised its flukes while diving, which is a rare and impressive sight.
Koen is a Dutch nature enthusiast who shares our passion for whales and decided to invest in a GG1 five-day multi-trip pass by Gentle Giants. During this time period he joined three to four tours a day (mostly on the oak boats but added to his pass also some on the RIBs) and was very lucky with both whales and weather.
Time flies and yesterday it was already a year ago since Daniel and I got married in Naustavík – the little paradise in the mountains on the other side of our bay.We combined our anniversary celebration with some general GG-staff quality time.
The sea was calm as a mirror this morning and the sun stood high already at six o’clock when Kalli, Daniel and I went from Húsavík harbour to Grímsey Island in less than one hour on RIB Amma Kibba.
At lot is going on by Gentle Giants these days. We feel how the season is getting more and more busy - as it should - which is a lot of fun!During the last days, except for our scheduled departures with great whale sightings, we have had several extra- and tailor made tours going on.
It's the third season I'm guiding for Gentle Giants. Year by year I wished to spot killer whales one day. But that day never came.Then, a few days ago, we were heading out on our RIB Amma Sigga when another captain was saying via the radio that they found a pod of orcas.
Today, 17th June, is Iceland’s national day. Many locals joined the annual parade through town or took the children pony riding while we celebrated on the bay with - amongst other whales - this very acrobatic humpback.
Thanks to a course in marine mammal science from the University of Iceland, 23 students with different nationalities have got the chance to do research on our wild whales in Skjálfandi Bay. Marianne Rasmussen, who is an experienced marine mammal scientist based in Húsavík and also the administrator of this annual course, teaches the students on different ways of doing research on marine mammals.
Today the Húsavík Whale Museum officially opened an exhibition showing the outcome of last winter’s “whale school”. That is an annual project where local children get to learn about the gentle giants of the ocean.
