Our captain Pétur just reported the great news that they on board our oak boat Sylvía currently are watching a humpback whale in the western part of our bay. Humpbacks have generally been one of our most frequently sighted whale species during the last years.
This energetic group of students from the local upper secondary school went with us on the afternoon whale watching tour today. They take a specially developed Whale Watching Guide course, unique for their school here in Húsavík – the Whale Capital of Iceland.
Today is First Day of Summer – a cheerful holiday in Iceland that brings a promise about brighter times ahead. To celebrate this we would like to share with you the heart-warming story about a very romantic moment on one of our whale watching tours the other day.
Two sperm whales are currently in Skjálfandi Bay and our captain Halli just gave a live report from on board RIB Amma Helga. He said the first one they found was logging on the surface which made it possible for the passengers to get a very peaceful close-up encounter with this special, and to us very rare, gentle giant.
How time flies! Our season has now been going on for a month and it is time to level up. We are excited to present some news from 15th April on. The last days our beloved puffins have started arriving back for their nesting season.
After three years as a whale watching guide by Gentle Giants he took a one-year break and went lump fishing with his dad in Norway. Now Aksel Bjarnason is back in Húsavík, his second home – this time as our head guide.
We all have our personal first signs of spring. Here in Iceland it is always a big thing when the first golden plover arrives, which happened today and was reported by national media as usual. To our head captain on the RIBs, Sverrir, launching RIB Amma Helga today was his "sweet sign of spring", according to a video he shared on Facebook.
Our lucky passengers and crew on yesterday's departure at 10:45 got to enjoy sunshine, white-beaked dolphins and humpback whales. What more can you ask for? The following video, of another beautiful humpback encounter, was recorded by our passenger Vivianne Kempers in 2017. Thanks again for sharing, @viviannekempers You can also tag, mention and/or check in at Gentle Giants Whale Watching to share your memories.
What brings the staff of Gentle Giants together is our passion for whales and their surrounding nature. Life as a whale watching guide is forever fascinating as every new departure is a unique adventure, which our guide Miro's story from yesterday's tour proves: Wild nature of Skjálfandi Bay, some tours are better than others and some can not get any better! And exactly one tour like mentioned last we experienced yesterday.
Since our season started, less than a week ago, we have encountered many interesting whale species in Skjálfandi Bay. Harbour porpoises, white-beaked dolphins, orcas, fin whales and a blue whale were on the list – and this morning we gladly added to it the beloved humpback whales as well.
