Waltz of the whales

Summer is back in Húsavík and in the bay. A flat sea, warming sunbeams, we could get the feeling we were sailing on the Mediterranean. When the boat approached the Kinnarfjöll mountains, we found many whales taking part to a feeding party. There were at least five humpback whales around us and two minke whales. In all directions they were blows and flukes at the surface. Two arctic skuas were playing the pirates and chased a poor seagull to steal its food.

A humpback whale with a beautiful fluke emerged several times close to us, its big mouth full of seafood. We could prefectly see its huge and white throat, and one time even its open mouth with a full set of baleen plates. One minke whale clearly showed us its pointed snout as well as its white chin when it surfaced several times near the boat.

The afternoon tour wasn’t less succesful, only a little bit more windy. There were still plenty of whales near the mountains. We sailed up to the northwestern part of the bay, where we could have a nice view over Flatey and its houses emerging from the horizon like a ghost town lost in the sea. The skuas were still trying to bother other seabirds.

Another humpback whale slowly swam along the boat. With the sun shining almost vertically, there was an excellent visibility and all the details of the upper side of its body could be very well seen underwater.: the knobby head, the oversized white flippers and the enormous fluke…a beautiful large adult.  Another fantastic day !

Stéphan