Breaching humpback steals the show

As we set out on Hildur into the bay on a slightly overcast Monday morning, we had no idea what was in store for us that day. Puffin Island or Lundey was a treat, I think there were more puffins than I’d ever seen before taking fligh around their rocky island. 

There was some light wind so we were able to set the schooner and topsail, our guests loved getting involved today, some were particularly excited to be on a tradtional schooner as it’s not everyone who can say they’ve helped man the sails on a boat in Iceland. 

As we sailed downwind towards the southerly part of the bay, we noticed there was a humpback not too far from the boat. We centered the schooner sail (we do this to make it easier to manoeuvre the boat under sail) and went to investigate this wonderful creature further. This humpback swam very close to the boat for a little while, giving us some fantastic views. Schooner Opal was sailing nearby so joined us to admire this whale, and as they approached, the humpback jumped straight out of the water, spinning in the air before plunging back into the depths of the bay. We couldn’t believe our eyes, as this happened right behind the boat and it’s not often you are lucky enough to see a humpback in so much detail. 

As we made out way back to the harbour, we were all exhilarated from our whale watching experience, the crew just as much as the guests!

Isabelle – deckhand