“Ireland to Iceland – On The Trail Of The Humpback Whale” looks to bring you on an immersive journey following the IWDG around Iceland in 2018 . It runs 58 minutes. “The aim of the film is not to tell you everything but to give you a sense of something.” Tony Whelan director ‘The music….the
In May 2018, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group left Dublin embarking on an expedition to Iceland on its research vessel Celtic Mist. Four women and four men; a retired school teacher, a surgeon, a parks ranger along IT specialists and a farmer from Kildare were onboard and skippered by a project manager from Arklow. During the
The IWDG Ireland to Iceland 2018 Humpback Whale Expedition was a great success. The expedition obtained fluke images of humpback whales and two adult blue whales, it engaged with local and national researchers and whale watching tour guides and with coastal communities. We also built on our relationship between two island nations that share a whale population.
The last part of the Ireland to Iceland 2018 Expedition to Iceland, having surveyed for whales and dolphins all the areas we planned to, was to bring Celtic Mist safely back to Ireland. On the outward passage the skipper and crew brought her straight from Dublin to Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar. For the return passage
The fourth leg of Ireland to Iceland 2018 aimed to survey the waters to the north and east including the poorly surveyed East Fjords. It has been five weeks since Celtic Mist left Dublin and only film-maker Tony Whelan was the constant crew member for this last survey leg. Skipper Mick O’Meara joined Celtic Mist
Tuesday 19th June: With a fresh crew on board, which included our new skipper Mick O’ Meara and some old IWDG heads like Conal O’ Flanagan and Joanne O’ Brien, we finally had a weather window to round the imposing North West peninsula of Hornstrandir. This was a hard overnight passage during which we had
Isafjardardjup, in Iceland’s remote West Fjords, is a beautiful and wild place; such places at these latitudes generally have a few downsides, the weather is one. With conversation regularly revolving around Katabatic winds, icepack movement and northeasterly storms, we’ve had to put off any plans to get around the imposing northwest corner, which is the
The second week in Iceland involves sailing from the West Fjords of NW Iceland to Akureyri. It's a 160nml journey across around the tip of West Fjords and the most northerly point of Iceland, close to the Arctic circle. Follow our story and share our incredible experience. A road trip from the land crew recorded more whales than the
The first week in Iceland involves sailing the West Fjords of NW Iceland from Reykjavik to Ísafjorŏur. It's a 180nml journey across some of the most exposed and potentially risky coast. Long legs between ports or refuges with katabatic winds common as the wind rises over the glaciers of West Fjords.Follow our story and share our
During the early morning hours of Thursday, 31st May, the IWDG's Celtic Mist arrived into Vestmannaeyjar Harbour in the Westman Islands (pictured left), which is 200 miles south of Reykjavik. After sailing a 1,000 miles in just six days from Dublin, the crew reported a great voyage up, having had "a great experience being away