Sweet Days in Húsavík

Almost every town in Iceland has a special day or weekend, and Húsavík is no exception.  The town’s festival is called Mærudagar, which means Candy Days, and it is held the last weekend in July as a time for everyone to come together and enjoy Húsavík.   The town is divided into 3 districts: Pink,…

1st Whale Congress in Húsavík

Wednesday 16th July, the Whale Museum hosted an event here in Húsavík, the Whale Congress.  North Sailing had two representatives presenting at this conference, guides Luisa Klotz and Sabrina Brando.   Dr Marianne Rasmussen, the director of the Húsavík Research Centre, was the first to present.  She described some of the research that is being…

Schooner Opal is leaving for Greenland!

  Once again, North Sailing is offering tours in beautiful Scoresby Sund on the east coast of Greenland.  Opal is leaving now to start the season and Hildur will also go to Greenland later in August.    Schooner Opal will leave Húsavík later tonight and head for the majestic scenery of Scoresby Sund, on the…

Something new and…relaxing

Yoga instructors Huld Hafliðadóttir and Arnbjörg Kristín Konráðsdóttir arranged a tour which they called “Deep Relaxation, Meditation, and Whale Watching.”   On Monday evening, July 14th, a group of 26 people of all ages set off on Schooner Opal for this new experience.    Huld has previously been a guide for North Sailing and now works…

Double Tails

The Double Tails package is a combination of the NS-1 Húsavík Original Whale Watching tour and a 2-hour riding tour from local horse farm Saltvík.  If the riding is combined with the NS-2 Whales, Puffins & Sails tour, it is called Double Tails and Sails.  These tours have proved to be very popular this summer.…

20 years of whale watching on Knörrinn!

Knörrinn, the boat that started it all for North Sailing, is celebrating its 20th season as a whale watching boat.   In 1994, brothers Árni and Hörður Sigurbjarnarson decided to buy an old oak boat to save it from being scrapped.  (or worse-old wooden boats sometimes ended up on the New Year’s Eve bonfire!) They…

A unique Edge of the Arctic tour

Passengers and crew met on Monday evening on the 30th of June on-board Schooner Hildur, got settled on the ship and discussed possible options for the tour ahead. The weather forecast was not optimal; due to strong winds that were expected from the east on Wednesday an alternative route had to be taken.   Early…

A royal visit

  Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden visited North Sailing and Restaurant Gamli Baukur earlier today along with her husband Prince Daniel, the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and the First Lady, Dorrit Moussaieff. The Crown Princess is in Iceland for two days on an official visit and visiting North Sailing and Gamli Baukur was…

Sperm Whales in the bay!

  Today was an extraordinary day in Skjálfandi Bay. Around noon, passengers and crew on-board Bjössi Sör spotted at least four sperm whales in the northwestern part of Skjálfandi Bay and the other North Sailing boats managed to pay them a visit as well. Sperm whales are extremely rare in the area but these whales…

New Whale Watching Center Opening Soon

  This winter has been busy at North Sailing due to the fact that along side maintaining the whale watching boats and getting them ready for the whale watching season, the company is also building a two story building on top of its headquarters by Húsavík harbour, a new whale watching center. The lower floor…

Whale watching companies in Húsavík join hands

Tourism companies in Húsavík have decided to join hands to market the town as The Whale Capital of Iceland. A new brand has been made and in the next few weeks the campaign will be followed through with more promotion. The three whale watching companies in Húsavík have competed with each other for many years…

Two amazing Ski to the Sea tours

  Two very successful Ski to the Sea tours were operated last week, on both schooner Haukur and schooner Hildur.   On this unique adventure, the strengths of two leading Icelandic adventure tourism companies, North Sailing and Bergmenn Mountain Guides are combined, resulting in an adventure like no other.   Schooner Haukur departed on Wednesday…

North Sailing and its founders recognized by the Icelandic Regional Institute

North Sailing and its founders, Hörður and Árni Sigurbjarnarson, received recognition from the Icelandic Regional Development Institute for the development of whale watching in Húsavík at the institute‘s annual meeting that took place at Miðgarður in Skagafjörður. Árni Sigurbjarnarson attended the meeting and accepted the recognition, which is called Landstólpinn. Landstólpinn is a social recognition…

Fantastic Ski to the Sea Tour

  A successful Ski to the Sea tour was operated a few weeks ago, 23rd – 27th of March. Schooner Hildur awaited the group at Akureyri harbour in the afternoon of the 23rd of March and set off for a an excellent skiing and sailing tour.   This tour offers the opportunity to explore the…

Schooner Opal leaves Reykjavík

  Last Friday, March 28th, schooner Opal headed home to Húsavík after a five months long stay in Reykjavík over the winter months. The schooner sailed several times around the Faxaflói area on very successful northern lights tours, tailored group tours and promotional events. The unique sailing boat got well deserved attention during its stay…

Killer whales in the bay!

  On this rather chilly and rainy March-morning in Húsavík, North Sailing’s first whale watching tour of the 2014 season was operated, earlier than ever before.   Six excited passengers left Húsavík harbour on-board Bjössi Sör, with captain Heimir and guide Sammi, at 10 o’clock this morning.   Passengers and crew encountered six killer whales,…