Clear Skies, but Brief Northern Lights

The forecast was looking good for tonight’s Northern Lights by Boat tour, so we were excited to sail out again after having to cancel the last 3 evenings due to cloud cover. The weather conditions leading up to boarding admittedly did not look promising, with heavy rain and thick cloud cover blanketing the city of Reykjavík. However, we had faith in the Icelandic Meteorological Office and their forecast! So, we got our passengers on board, where they wrapped up in our warm overalls provided free of charge to everyone. We then sailed out from the Old Harbor into the darkness of Kollafjörður, and began our hunt for the auroras.

The weather didn’t change much for the first 30-45 minutes of the tour, but then slowly but surely the clouds began to clear up! Eventually the sky was almost completely cloud-free, a welcome change from earlier in the evening. We could observe hundreds of stars above our heads, and the three-quarters moon shone over Mount Esja. While we waited for the auroras, we could appreciate the white beam of light coming from the Imagine Peace Tower on Viðey island, a monument to world peace and a memorial to John Lennon. Tonight was the first night of the season that the light was turned on, because today is John Lennon’s birthday. After waiting a while in the cold October air, some faint green northern lights appeared to the northwest! They faded after a while, and later on they came back brighter, as a green curtain swaying behind some clouds, but only for a few minutes. Although we were able to enjoy the auroras this evening before sailing back to the Old Harbor, they were quite brief and not as bright as we were hoping, so we invited everyone on board to come back again with us for free, anytime they wish!

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES – but brief; passengers invited to come back again