Not content with our damning discoveries of bottom-trawled black coral, we're still out here, keeping watch. Around midnight, we launch two of the Rainbow Warrior's inflatable boats into a rough sea. We're off to check out another trawler, and watch it bring up its nets. It's a dark, clear night, but the swell is heavy, and there's a strong wind. We stand around on the deck, cocooned in waterproofs, watching the crane lifting the boats. There's the usual wisecracking, a bit of apprehension, and impatience to get under way. There's four of us in two boats, the Avon and the Waka Nui. Wooley is in Avon with the big digital video camera, and I'm in the Waka Nui, armed with the night vision gear.
Stuart steers the Waka Nui, gently over the crest of each big wave, each one high enough to obscure our view of the target trawler. The fishing boat is lit up like a Christmas tree, with full floodlights.
Anna's sitting at the stern, grinning, enjoying herself immensely. Logi is sitting across from me amidships - he and I let go a 'woah, that's a biggie' each time the boat descends a wave. The ride is gentler than I expected, but then we're only doing 6 knots (11km/h). We get an occasional shower of spray over the side, but the inflatable's big pontoons keep us well out of the water.
The Avon races ahead, arriving just too late to see a haul being brought on board. We've seen this trawler before. The radio crackles... it's a warning from the bridge of the Rainbow Warrior; 'Be careful, the ship is turning constantly'. Unsure of what the trawler's skipper is up to, we hang well back.
We're about 100m directly astern of the trawler, almost blinded by the lights. The Avon is bouncing up and down between us and the stern of the ship. The trawler goes up over a wave, half disappears, the Avon goes up, then vanishes behind the wave. It's like being on a big wet roller coaster. I've become a human steadycam, watching everything through the LCD lens, my arm going up and down as the boat rises and falls. Every so often, a huge shower of spray comes over the bow, and soaks me. I'm drying to dry the camera lens with my wool hat, but I'm really just rearranging the water.
The trawler is twisting and turning still. We wait, hang back, keep filming, waiting for them to re-set their nets. Nothing is happening, we're just bobbing around, and the trawler keeps moving. 'Avon, Waka Nui, bridge' - the Rainbow Warrior calls us. 'Come on home'.
Logi's at the wheel, taking us back home, with the wind behind us. Matt calls us from the Avon - 'get a spotlight out and ride the wave'. Stuart gets up on the bow with the lamp, and guides Logi onto the wave. Now we're surfing, all the way back to the ship, with Logi keeping us right on the crest. Back on the Rainbow Warrior, it looks like there's a car coming to wards them - two headlights out of the gloom.
Back on the ship, I realise my face is covered in salt and my outer clothes are soaked. The boats are loaded on, battened down, washed and cleaned. The media mavens go below, to review video footage. Afterwards, we all sit around, chilling out, eating toast, analysing the trip. It's late now, 3am... but I can't think of a better way to spend a Monday night on the Tasman Sea.
