Thar She Blows!!!

Whale watching in the North Atlantic requires good sea legs and a strong stomach, even if you’re only going out on a schooner!

Didn’t really “sail” out of Húsavík given the moderate winds and tight schedule, but the Opal was a nice two-masted vessel (with very quiet diesel engines) built in 1951 and she performed beautifully. 

Four our three-hour tour… a three-hour tour!

Beautiful clear day, awesome viewing conditions!

Fearless crew…

It wasn’t that the weather started getting rough, so much as the rollers were just still coming in from the prior day’s weather… the tiny ship did get tossed a little bit. 

And so did some lunches! Watched one lady hold out pretty well until she heard someone wretching on the starboard side, then she was done! About 5’ from Marina! Fortunately we had managed the wind well in our positioning amidships.

And then, just as it was time to come about and return to port…

About half-grown humpback whale!

Really cool! Saw puffins too, but it’s a miracle my phone wasn’t lost taking the videos and photos I managed. Did have my sea legs by the time we made port and none of our crew blew. 

We were actually supposed to have gone out for Marina’s birthday, but canceled due to the weather (thank goodness). Everything happens for a reason!

Guess paying attention to the weather forecast was a “fluke” this time! 

Sorry, couldn’t resist…