We've been at sea for a few days now - and have been dealing with some pretty awful weather. Whenever it's improved though, the crew of the Rainbow Warrior have been getting to know each other, and gelling as a team. With a new crew on board, we all have to get to know each other's idiosyncrasies - but we also have to make sure we're all trained up for life at sea. Part of the beauty of sailing on Greenpeace ships is that you end up with a great group of people at the end - but that group only exists for a short period of time. While you might sail with some of the same people again, it's rare to get the actual group back together again.

These last few days, we've been busy learning about using and maintaining the inflatables we have on board. Some of this has involved training people up for the loading and unloading of boats from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior. Once in the water, we've been practicing our boat-driving skills, including the safe transfer of people and equipment between the Warrior and the boats. We've got some extremely experienced boat people on board - well able to handle an inflatable in tough sea conditions, anywhere in the world. Having said that, we have some new crew members who've taken to the boats like they were born to it. It looks glamorous - all those photographs and video of activists hurtling across the waves. Physically, it's very demanding - every time the boat touches the surface of the water, there's a jolt to the bones. But it's not all high-speed - we often spend hours 'standing-by' for one reason or another. This means cold, hunger, being soaked through, and even seasickness. But perhaps the true mark of 'being comfortable' in an inflatable is when you can catnap in such conditions...

Back on deck, and in between the vicious squalls of rain, boat mechanic Medi has been giving us exhaustive tuition on how to treat our boats and outboard motors with tender loving care.

- Dave