Husavik - where the whales are!

Husavik is called the whale-watching capital of Iceland for good reason - the harbour is packed with whale watching boats in different formats and sizes and the captain of our boat boasted a 95% success rate! Ours was a medium-sized boat and passengers were provided with warm jump suits. I didn't need to wear it as it was a relatively warm and sunny day and I have enough layers to keep me warm and mobile even though we spent all of the two and a half hours on deck. There were zodiacs that chased down the whales and got really close - a bit too aggressive and apparently was frowned upon. 

The captain was kept well-informed by other captains and apparently, they followed the birds. Where there were large groups of birds gathered, that tend to be where the whales were.  This is because the birds would be going after the scraps leftover from the whale's meal and they had insider's information!  

We saw some dolphins as we approached the spot where there were other whale-watching boats waiting, but we were not close enough when the dolphins came out of the water.  But it was exciting to see a pair swimming side by side - possibly a mom and tot thing as they were really close together.

I captured a number of whale dives from various angles.  At one point, the whale was so close part of the tail went outside the frame of my lens! It was a very productive morning and we truly considered ourselves lucky for the clear sunny morning especially just as we left Husavik after lunch, the fog started to roll in and we were glad we were not doing the cruise in the afternoon.  You win some, you lose some...

It's the first time I've gone on a whale-watching cruise (that actually saw whales) so it's a matter of learning on the job - watching out for the moment when the whale dives and catching the tail in the air. I learned quickly that was the most interesting part of the whale where photography is concerned - it's where the action is, otherwise it's one big black thing in the water...unless of course one gets really lucky and the entire whale comes out of the water!

Husavik - the whale-watching capital of Iceland

This is one of many whale-watching boats

The church in Husavik has beautiful windows looking out onto the harbour

A couple of neat buildings in Husavik

Beautiful mountains on the way out...

Dolphins (probably white-beaked dolphins) - the warm-up act

Two dolphins very close together - possibly "mom and tot"?

Other whale-watching boats were already waiting

So were the dolphins and the seabirds

Here comes the whale about to dive

My first whale tail!

The birds congregate where the whales are so they are ready for leftovers

A typical whale-watching zodiac

I love the waterfall from the whale tail!

This one was practically next to the boat - so close I can't fit it all into the frame!

Two whales side by side - one diving before the other

See how close the zodiacs get...

All gathered to wait for the performance...

Watch the whale hump as it prepared to dive

You just have to be in the right place when the whale dives...it helps to be on a part of the boat where you can easily access both sides of the boat.

Beautiful mountains on the way back to Husavik - we can see the fog just starting to roll in. It had been an amazing trip!