July 31, 2005

Just a Regular Saturday Afternoon

We are here © Greenpeace

Today was quite slow since we didn't come across any fishing boats until late in the day. The most thrilling thing that happened on my watch was a Russian merchant ship appearing on our radar. We made contact with it and asked if it had seen any fishing vessels but the guy on the radio said no. We continued along the edge of the banks and navigated north of the tail.

As tropical storm Franklin headed north it created a low in this area so we appear to have been caught in a spot of bad weather which has slowly deteriorated into force 6-7 winds with waves reaching several meters high. As I write this I can hear things crashing around in the mess and the galley. Woh! I nearly fell out of my seat. The captain just announced on the phone system that we are turning and so things could start to roll a little more. How much more is this ship going to move I wonder? Will I be lifted out of my bed this evening? Oooh, a big wave just smashed into the porthole of my cabin. Satu and I only closed it 10 minutes ago so that was close!

The ship and many of her crew have coped with weather much worse than this, but for some of us infrequent sea goers it's a little unnerving. The Espy frequently shakes and shudders as she writhes up and down every few seconds. I just ate dinner and am praying it stays down. Everyone is fine although some of us are starting to turn a colour, which matches the organisation.

Earlier this afternoon we spotted Atlantic white sided dolphins just as Flo, a boat driver from Germany, was telling me he wanted to see them. It was a very acrobatic display and I finally managed to get some nice pictures, but I wont bore you about dolphins again. The exciting news at the end of the afternoon was that we had radio contact with a new Spanish trawler, out of Vigo. It had been fishing Greenland halibut (a fishery, which is under a 15 year recovery plan) and was moving on to fish for shrimp and skates. The Flemish Cap (where we should be arriving shortly) shrimp fishery is the largest bottom trawl fishery in international waters. We met up with the trawler in the fog but the weather was too rough to launch a boat for a visit, so we exchanged information about the campaign over the radio and we are now heading north again.

-Lisa.

July 30, 2005

Meet Virginia: Photographer

Name: Virginia
From: USA
Job: Photographer

How did you end up working for Greenpeace?
I began working for Greenpeace four years ago on a Clean Energy campaign in the States and I've been taking photographic commissions with with the organisation ever since.

What do you like best about your job?
Using my photography to tell a story. An image is worth a thousand words.

If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
I would like to open the often closed doors of perceptions that we humans carry with us.

Out and About in a Boat

Redfish from a deep sea haul © Greenpeace

Last night we found a ship on the high seas on our radar. It was near the tail of the Grand Banks we discovered over the radio that it was a Portuguese vessel which was bottom trawling for redfish. We asked if it would be possible to visit them in the morning and maybe come aboard but they left us waiting for an answer saying that they needed to check with their company.

I did the 4am-8am watch last night and think I'm expected to do that for a while, though I'm already starting to feel the strain of this task having had no sleep since 3:40am. It's been an exciting day though so I don't mind feeling exhausted, at least not yet.

Fog surrounded us throughout the night but the weather was fine (where is that approaching storm everyone keeps talking about?). We followed the trawler on our radar, but remained several miles away. At about 5:30am one crew member from the fishing vessel contacted us on the radio and told us that we were only welcome on board if we had a NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) inspector with us.

Later that morning Bunny spoke to them and although we couldn't make it onto the vessel they agreed with us coming by for a closer look at their catch. This time, instead of helping to launch the African Queen I was actually in it! I had asked the campaigners and Mike the mate, if I could go several times already and after a meeting it was decided... I was the "extra" crew member on the Queen. I am very glad that I am now able to tell you, what happened when we went to visit our first bottom trawler in international waters even though my eyelids are currently being propped open with match sticks.

I sat on the back of the Queen and watched the Esperanza fade away into the fog. We cut through the surface of the water and sped across the glassy swells, which seemed a lot larger than from high above the ocean in the Espy. I've never been in a small boat this far from the coast so I was really surprised to notice just how enormous these watery hills were, which rose high above my head as they gently moved up and down. With fog encircling us like a white dome I couldn't tell which way was what but as if from nowhere, came the Santa Cristina, an enormous trawler, which looked like it had seen much better days.
It didn't take long before they began to haul the nets up from the deep. We watched carefully while remaining at about 20 meters from their stern. It happened just the way Mike told it yesterday after watching the other trawler but seeing the size of those steel doors for myself, which drag along the sea floor holding the net open shocked me into thinking about the untold damage that this gear must do on the fragile ecosystem below. They were catching redfish (often referred to as "rockfish") and although this fishery is said to be relatively "clean", involving little bycatch, I wonder how much destruction it leaves on the seabed, which is not apparent when the nets reach the surface.

As soon as the bright pink fish appeared so did all the greater shearwaters (seabirds), making the most out of this unfortunate event. Many small fish slipped out of the net and floated past the Queen right next to me, still moving around and seemingly still alive only not able to swim at all. I dread to think of what the pressure does to those fish when they are hauled up to the surface from over 600 meters. We caught some of these guys and put them in the boat with us. I couldn't help but look at them as they twitched and flapped about in the box, while the rest of the crew searched for bycatch coming off the trawler.

I didn't need to see any bycatch. I was already convinced that this method of fishing in the relatively unregulated high seas has to end NOW. I'm amazed how there can be this many redfish left after seeing how many they can catch in just a couple of hours. Later I learned that even smaller vessels have been seen catching up to 5 times as much fish! It's very sobering to witness just how far removed we must be from nature to be able to exploit it in such a grotesque way.

Click here to give bottom trawling in the high seas the (fish) finger and help save deep sea life

-Lisa.

The Santa Cristina

We're watching you

July 29, 2005

The Queen and the Princess

The Eastern Princess II, trawling in Canadian waters
© Greenpeace/ Hunter

Yesterday morning we spotted fishing boats on our radar just before we entered international waters. We contacted one of them who informed us that they were trawling and that we were welcome to come alongside although they seemed apprehensive about the fact that we were "Greenpeace". Our main objective is to document bottom trawling in the high seas, however we are also interested in getting footage of any bottom trawl gear in action and this was a perfect opportunity to practice before we found vessels in international waters. Initially, the captain of the fishing vessel declined our offer of campaign information over the radio and refused a request to come aboard. The following is Mike's account of what took place after we made contact, and launched an inflatable...

Rossano pointed the African Queen (one of our inflatables) into the mists and away we went. At fifty meters the big blue Esperanza turned into a puff of cloud. Our destination, the Eastern Princess II was equally obscured within the veil of fog, and for ten minutes we were between the worlds of Fisher and Greenpeace. The mists were a cool and refreshing escape from the balmy weather of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

One fish, two fish, a stream of little dead fish floated past the African Queen. We were in the water filming the haul of a trawl. The skipper of the Eastern Princess II, was a friendly, law abiding Canadian citizen, and he was fishing within the edge of the Canadian EEZ. It took him twenty minutes to bring his nets up from a depth of around five hundred meters. With a heavy clanging of steel upon steel, and a rattling of rusty chain, the huge steel doors that drag along the bottom to keep the nets open, rose up and out of the water, and were secured to the stern of the Fishers boat. They kept hauling, and then the rollers came out of the water, the rollers that roll across the sea bed and keep the nets dragging on the bottom. Finally a crescent of bright orange buoys popped to the surface and a long tail of green net floated behind. Rossano, with skillful boat handling kept the African Queen in a close up, but safe position. The cameras clicked and whirred, as the cod end, with little wriggling red fish, was winched up onto the deck of the Princess.

All of her gear now out of the water, the boat started to make way. We followed beside her at a safe distance. Then the skipper called on the radio, "Do you have anything for us to read" he asked. "Of course" I replied, "we will bring it right up to you". He slowed his boat and Rossano brought the Queen up alongside to hand over the campaign material to the Princess. "Permission to come aboard?" Bunny, (the lead campaigner from New Zealand and one of the survivors from the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior twenty years ago) called up to the crew. "You've got two minutes", the skipper called down to us. As quick as a flash, leaving only Penny and Rosso in the African Queen, the rest of us, being five in total, jumped on board. I went straight to the bridge to see the captain, leaving the campaigners and cameras to do their thing on the fish deck.

What a beautiful boat it was, immaculate condition. The bridge was panelled in oak and had a smell of polished leather. There was the skipper, sitting in a cock pit of highly sophisticated electronic displays. He swivelled around on his chair as I entered and held out a hand to great me. I introduced myself as the Mate from the Esperanza, and we talked a little about life at sea. "There are some big trawls out there" he said, and then he pointed out a position on the chart where we would find them, beyond the Canadian fishing ground, in International waters. We thanked the crew and skipper for their hospitality. Rossano, brought the African Queen alongside and we slipped back into the fog.

--Mike Mate

Meet Mariajo: Campaigner

Name: Mariajo
From: Spain
Job: Campaigner

How did you end up working for Greenpeace?
In 1999 I was working as a volunteer in an owl hospital when I saw on the noticeboard a Greenpeace job offer. I read it several times and finally I decided that I can try.

What do you like best about your job?
To have the opportunity to work with issues that I am concerned about. Greenpeace is formed for millions of people so I also like the amazing people you have the opportunity to meet.

If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
I would make poverty disappear.

Why do you think we should give high seas bottom trawling the (fish) finger?
Governments don't realise all the damage that bottom trawling is causing to the deep sea ecosystem. We need to change our way of thinking, we can't keep destroying this planet.

Picturing the Deep

Virginia at the bow of the Esperanza © Greenpeace

From Virginia the photographer (who has joined the ship from Los Angeles, USA)...

Aahhh, the allure of the sea, I am beginning to understand what this means.

Yesterday was my first day at sea; the first of 14 days and nights of continual motion rocking and rolling and not to The Rolling Stones either. When I was offered this commission to document the mission for the Deep Sea campaign, I took it as I would take any other assignment, with a demeanor of professionalism and with little true emotive comprehension of what lay before me apart from doing my job as well as possible. The sea's life and its magic was abstract to me in my urban lifestyle.

I didn’t feel the allure of the sea in the first half of the first day. Quite the contrary as I was beckoned instead to the commodes. Enough said on this topic, and thankfully so.

It began when I ventured to the absolute point of the bow. It was there that I started my ponderings of the sea. As I stood at the edge with only the ship’s railing dividing me in my own landlubber universe from what I didn’t know beyond the rail... a whole other life aquatic. Peering into the massive volumes of water below me and succumbing to the waves’ swaying motions, I began to imagine the depths below the surface, the wondrous sea life and aquatic terrain.
The top of the sea has inspired great songs, poems and novels. The sounds and sways of the siren’s song and dance beckon both men and women to the high seas. But deep, deep, deep below holds another allure that has still to be understood and sadly in need of protection from destruction. At that moment a wave came over me. No, not a wave of water but a wave of clarity for the sea and its divine right as a life force which leads to the essence of our mission and why we are here in the North Atlantic Ocean.

-Virginia

July 28, 2005

The Story of Mike the Mate

As a child Michael James Ian Fincken, played on the rolling green hills of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa. He was not aware of the politics of his country, until a time where the child had to leave and join the army in 1985. Instead, he slipped quietly away to sea, on a rusty old cargo ship bound for Hong Kong. There he discovered passion, on the long ocean passages that curved across the circumference of the Earth. The voyages took him to strange and wondrous lands. He met a young nurse back home in Cape Town, they fell in love, married and bought a house in a small fishing village, on the Cape Peninsula.

The house had a garden, and he thought that he would rather have been a farmer, and so he went to school to learn more about growing vegetables. Unbeknownst to him, it was a school of organic agriculture, and what he learned changed his world forever. Mikey Mike learned about the importance of earth worms in the soil. Soon he had Earthworm farms all over his garden, then he joined the Kommetjie Environmental Awareness Group, where they had an educational Permaculture garden. He was in love with the sea, but had fallen in love with the Earth, how to marry the two?

With this big question in his mind, he shipped out to sea again, and found himself as the chief mate on a cargo ship loading 36 thousand metric tones of pristine temperate rain forest, from the Saw Mills of British Columbia. This was in 1994. His ship was just one of five loading lumber alongside the quay, and he knew that when they all sailed, there would be five more ships coming in to take their place. One day whilst loading the big old trees in Vancouver, he took the time to go ashore. He was looking for an environmental group and what he found was Greenpeace in Canada. An environmental group at sea, the perfect match.

There was little Greenpeace could do for the poor trees, that where being piled up high on the decks of his ship. They gave him a book, called ' The Greenpeace Story', but more importantly they gave him an address in the Netherlands, to which he could write. Letters started to flow between Holland and South Africa, and for two years he kept up the correspondence, until he could bare it no more. He flew to Amsterdam, they knew him when he walked through the doors to Greenpeace International, and they new what he was there for. Within a week they sent him off to Vancouver to join the smallest boat Greenpeace had, the Moby Dick. He joined for a Forestry campaign, and the 25th Anniversary of the sailing of the Phyllis Cormack. Now he was in a position to do something about the falling forests.

Mike has sailed with Greenpeace since 1996, except for the four years he lived in the Rocky mountains after his wife had died of cancer. Now he is a Chief Mate, he is a Master Mariner and one day he will make a great Captain.

An Introduction to the Northwest Atlantic Deep Sea Campaign

Mariajo (left) Greenpeace Spain oceans campaigner and Bunny (right) campaign coordinator - during a boat training session yesterday © Greenpeace

Here's a message from Bunny, our campaign coordinator...

The area that we are sailing towards (the international waters of the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap) has been fished for hundreds of years, in fact it was the fish that attracted fishermen from far and wide and spurred the settlement of the Canadian Atlantic coast. Bottom trawling or dragging as its known in this part of the world, has been happening since the 1950s but really took off in the 1980s as the inshore fisheries in many countries were depleted. The fleets moved offshore and started to fish deeper and deeper. Very little is known about the deep ocean where bottom trawling is taking place or in many cases about the biology of the fish they are fishing for.

International waters (high seas) cover 64% of the earths surface, but there are more maps of the moon than there are of the deep ocean floor and few laws govern what humans can do in these areas. A recent response to Greenpeace, from the Oceanographic Institute of Spain (a governmental scientific agency responsible for collecting fisheries information) said that they had no information on the impact of their bottom trawl fleet on the seabed in the NW Atlantic despite them bottom trawling here for decades.

Based on information from 2004 survey trawls, for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, there is a high diversity of corals along the edge of the continental shelf of the Grand Banks. These corals provide habitat for marine invertebrates and for a number of commercial fish species, such as redfish and Atlantic cod. Deep sea corals are slow growing, long lived and extremely fragile making them very vulnerable to trawling impacts and they are appearing in trawling nets, particularly in the shrimp and Greenland halibut fisheries.

A moratorium would allow time for scientists to identify sensitive and fragile areas such as these coral colonies and for them to establish the necessary protection. A moratorium would also provide the motivation for policy makers to adopt longer term measures for managing and governing our global commons.

--Bunny

Meet Luke: Engineer

Name: Luke
From: British [editor's note: Luke does not like to be pigeonholed by nationality]
Job: Engineer

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
Several years ago I was living in Amsterdam, and volunteering for a small environmental organization. I had a friend who was working for Greenpeace, and they called me to come and do a couple of weeks work on a new ship, which they had acquired and needed to convert.

Two weeks turned to three, and three to four. Six months later, having worked through the entire conversion, I was lucky enough to sail with the ship on its maiden voyage, and am still here sailing today. I have worked in both the deck departments and now the engine room, so I am in a privileged position of knowing all areas and systems of the ship.

What do you do when you are not on board?
When I am not sailing, I live in Spain in a community project based just outside of Barcelona. There we work with local and international people on ecological issues, resource management (such as water, forest energy), food production, sustainability and autonomy. It is really a very beautiful place, which I miss a lot when onboard.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
I really enjoy the life and work onboard. It is such a varied existence that it is basically impossible to pinpoint any one favorite activity. However, the times that I am most content always seem to come when we are a long,long way from land, surrounded only by the oceans, skies and the creatures that abode there. What I love about the oceans is that they have no frontiers. You can pass without hindrance from one to another, free from the racist idiocy of immigration policies.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
If I really could change one thing in the world tomorrow, it would be to abolish political borders, and allow free and uninhibited migration for all, not just us fortunate Westerners.

Everything's Changing

Veiw of Halifax as the Esperanza left yesterday © Greenpeace

Hotel Esperanza is now full. We have a person in almost every bunk and it's difficult to find a place to sit in the mess now during meal times. This morning I searched for a place to work but Satu was asleep in our cabin since she's on the 12-4 watch again. Eddie, our bosun, was cleaning the lounge and the campaign office was full of campaigners. Failing to find a quiet, comfortable spot inside I came to the heli hanger where there is plenty of space, lots of fresh air and nobody around. Ah, peace!

I've enjoyed showing new people around the ship and feel very lucky that I got to settle in early. I feel like this is a home away from home now and like I've known the crew my entire life. When you see the same people each morning that you saw the night before they start to fee like family. We're much more aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses. We've had ups and downs. We've had laughs and we've had tears. We've had heated arguments and calm debates. We've shared jokes and stories. We've made mistakes and we've done things right. We've celebrated a birthday (Tom's) and we've crossed the Atlantic Ocean with dolphins escorting us the entire way.

When I first arrived I managed to get myself into trouble with Chris, the Radio Operator straight away. I felt like like our relationship was doomed from that moment and to be honest I really didn't think I'd like him. Last night at 9 o'clock I asked Chris to send my weblog for me, which he does using satellite communication. Even though it was late and I could tell he was tired, he sat down at his computer with no questions asked and worked his magic. While there are many people on this ship that frequently make me laugh, Chris doesn't even have to say anything before I begin to giggle because he pulls the funniest faces at me when I least expect it. He left the navy over 7 years ago to work for Greenpeace when he saw a news report featuring them on the television. He now lives in Costa Rica and manages a small organic chocolate farm. How cool is that?

Chris (Radio Operator), steers the ship out of Halifax

After we finished sending my e.mail he turned on the ship's radio last night and tuned into a station. As soon as he heard voices talking he turned around to me with a childlike expression and said "It's raydeeowe austrahleeah mate! Isn't it just amazing how it's coming all the wahye from there?". He was so excited about being able to hear this noise, which actually wasn't very audible since the reception wasn't good at all but he didn't seem to care. I managed to persuade him away from his native radio waves and out to the stern of the ship with a cup of hot chocolate because I wanted someone to come outside with me for some fresh air. We stood looking over the water which was lit up with green flashes from bioluminescent plankton. As the waves drifted backwards behind the ship we could see faint green glowing patches lighting up the fog. I never thought for one second when I first met Chris, that we'd be drinking hot chocolate together watching little glowing creatures off the stern one night. Just goes to show that first impressions don't often count for much.

Life on the ship is suddenly different now, with so many people on board. Every deck is buzzing with voices and movement so much more than before we arrived in Halifax. Now that the campaign team are here and we are heading out to the deep with a specific task it feels like everything happening on board has more purpose. There is a lot more energy amongst the crew, even though many of them have been on the ship for over 2 months. I talked to some of the deckhands today who said that it was wonderful to break out of the normal routine, which you get into during transits, and wake up not knowing what is going to happen each day. While it may be difficult at times to share this space with so many more people it has brought the entire ship so much more alive! It will be interesting to see how everyone interacts over the next couple of weeks. The weather is going to get worse tomorrow and the search for the bottom trawlers will begin.

-Lisa.

Mike helps Maite to clear the anchor as we leave Halifax

July 27, 2005

Meet Mannes: Chief Engineer

Name: Mannes
From: Holland
Job: Chief Engineer

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
Followed my dreams.

What do you do when you are not on board?
Dream of being on board.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
Dreaming of being home.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Make me dream the other way around.

Meet Lisa: Web Editor

Name: Lisa
From: Bermuda
Job: Web Editor

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
I have been crazy about the environment since I was a kid, but at the beginning of 2004 I read an article in the Ecologist magazine about Emily Craddock, who had recently died while on the MV Arctic Sunrise in the Amazon. She was an amazing person and I was really inspired to follow in her footsteps, so I joined Greenpeace as a supporting member and became a cyberactivist always hoping that one day I would make it onto a ship somehow. I won a cyberactivist competition in 2004 and was given the chance to go to China and write the weblog for a campaign against GE rice. I can't explain how I felt when Greenpeace asked me to come back and work on the ships!

What do you do when you are not on board?
I am a Ph.D student researching a critically endangered species of lizard in Bermuda and I also have a part time job as therapist for a 9 year old boy who is overcoming Autism. In my spare time I organise environmental activism in Bermuda, manage an online environmental discussion forum, teach scuba diving (always for free) and am frequently involved with conservation projects and environmental education for children. I also love kayaking and photography.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
Watch dolphins!

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
I would give all the animals and plants the ability to communicate with humans (or the other way around) so that it would be a lot harder for us to destroy things like rainforests, which could tell us exactly how they felt about it. Basically I would give the environment a REAL voice.

Wa'la lin

A Pipe Carrier performs a sacred blessing on the Esperanza in Halifax © Greenpeace

The press conference we had on Monday morning was well received by the local and national media. The deep sea campaign was mentioned on almost every TV station and mainstream newspaper across the country so we're all really happy about that. It is estimated that we got 95% media coverage. I'll try and post some extracts from news articles soon.

The Canadian Fisheries Minister Goeff Regan held a press conference later in the day and in response to our campaign, said that Canada is against a moratorium because he thinks we need more science to first identify the most sensitive areas and then move to protect them.

But the problem is that not even Mr Regan could say where these sensitive areas in the high seas off Canada are, and this is why scientists are saying we need a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling as the first step - so that these areas are not destroyed before scientists can get around to identifying them, and giving them the protection they need.

I don't understand why politicians refuse to acknowledge the continuing destruction on the high seas while hiding behind the "science" smoke screen. This isn't the way we should protect our future and our chief engineer hit the nail on the head during lunch today when he said "right now we need more common sense rather than more science". Hopefully, we're going to change that at the UN meeting.

After lunch yesterday Mike told us that a "pipe carrier" was going to perform a sacred ceremony and bless the ship. I thought this seemed like a great thing to go and watch but Mike is always making up ridiculous things like this for his own amusement. He seems to take great pleasure is exploiting people's gullibility, and I am a usual target for this since I'm new. When he said there would be a sacred fire in the barbecue I burst out laughing, certain that I had been the victim of another trick. However, it was absolutely true and I had just laughed right in front of the guy who was going to do the blessing with the barbecue. Oh well, I blame Mike for that.

Some of the crew gathered on the heli-deck in a circle around the barbecue while Bill, who is a matis elder of the Cree ancestry in Nova Scotia, performed a very spiritual ceremony for us. He burnt some sage in a abalone shell and spread the smoke around us with a feather while we all took it in turns to place tobacco into the fire. Sage and tobacco are sacred herbs according to the Cree. He wished us success with our campaign and encouraged us to say thank you to the spirit, which he said unites us all with the rest of mother earth. In his language you say "Wa la lin" to give thanks and so we uttered those words as each of us travelled around the circle giving hugs to everyone else.

It was a very special event, which I was glad to be a part of, but it led me to think about what lies ahead for the creatures of the deep. Tears began to well up in my eyes while images of deep sea destruction rushed through my head and I knew that no matter how hard I want the destruction to end, it wont until we have convinced people who have the power to make the change (the UN). I believe we need more than sacred fires to achieve that and I know the next two weeks will be a great challenge for this campaign but we are on our way and we have pretty much everything we need. One thing that might be missing though, is your voice. Have you spoken out yet against deep sea destruction? If not - click here to give high seas bottom trawling the (fish) finger.

Wa la lin.

-Lisa.

July 26, 2005

Meet Satu: Deckhand

Name: Satu
From: Finland
Job: Deckhand (volunteer)

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
I volunteer for Greenpeace Finland. A couple of years ago I was involved in actions on board the Rainbow Warrior and I quite liked the atmosphere and the intensity of a Greenpeace ship. When I got to join Esperanza this summer on the Baltic Tour I immediately felt like I had come home. I've refused to leave the ship so far - I'm as curious as anybody about when I'll be asked to go home.

What do you do when you are not on board?
I am a lazy student trying to finish my degree. With that and the activism there hasn't been much time for hobbies lately, except from seeing some tv and watching a movie sometimes. I will start to learn Spanish here on board, though.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
Being up on the bridge, whether on watch or just hanging out. I love maps, charts, navigation, compasses, radars... and the view! Duty officers must be getting tired of the ton of questions I keep asking, always insisting on putting the ship's position to the chart! Scary news: I've also tried steering the Esperanza...

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Chocolate would be healthy!

July 25, 2005

Give Bottom Trawlers The Finger!

What does the high seas bottom trawling industry think of protecting deep sea life like ancient coral forests, undiscovered life and endangered species? Not much!

Like clearfelling rainforests, bottom trawling is wiping out ancient coral forests in the deep sea.

Please support a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling by telling your Environment, Fisheries and Foreign ministers that bottom trawling must stop!

Take Action Now »

Hello Halifax

The colourful boardwalk alongside the docks in Halifax including a "rock lobster" (spot the ship in the background?) © Greenpeace

We arrived in Halifax yesterday morning. The ship is parallel parked at the docks alongside a navy ship by the Maritime museum although we're moving out to an anchorage soon before we leave again for the Grand Banks tomorrow morning. I've been spending as much time as possible off the ship since we've been at sea for 2 weeks and I am so grateful to be on land now.

Some of the crew are leaving now but we have lots of new crew including campaigners, jet boat drivers, photographers, communications officer.. the lot. Satu and I have moved cabins and we're now on the main deck near the mess. Everyone has had to rearrange themselves on the ship and now I've got the bottom bunk, which I am very happy about since it has much more space!

We've been wandering around the city and finding our feet. The weather is gorgeous, the people are friendly and the Canadian beer is delicious! It was nice to eat out on Sunday afternoon and enjoy a few hours off the ship. Satu, Sabine, Tom and myself all shared cheese fondue by the waterfront.

We had a press conference today, which went really well and have decorated the ship with some awesome banners. More about that, with photos later.

I have to leave this little coffee shop now as it is closing and I am starting to get weird looks from the staff. It's a very cool little coffee place in downtown Halifax called the "Fair trade Shop & Coffee Bar". You can sit here drinking organic fair trade mochas while you surf the net using their wireless access and they also sell great organic chocolate and lots of fair trade items like shampoo and hand bags. I wish it was open all night! It's the perfect place for a Greenpeace blogger.

L.

Meet Rosso: Deckhand

Name: Rossano (Rosso)
From: Italy
Job: Deckhand

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
Sometimes fate is funny: it was in 1986 (or 87?) that I saw the Greenpeace vessel Sirius in the haven of Portoferraio, on the beautiful Tuscany island of Elba, and say to myself while going back to the hotel where I was working as director: 'I'd love to join that ship'. Ten years later, while in Holland (I have been studying quite a while in this country) I said to myself: 'Why not?' and went to Amsterdam to offer myself as a cook to Marine Services (I am smart, am I not?). 2 weeks later I had joined the... SIRIUS!!

What do you do when you are not on board?
I am a professional cook (worked in some very fine restaurants) I have worked in a hotel, holding many positions from receptionist to director (knowing 6 languages helps a lot). I have M.Scs. in Tropical Agriculture and Forestry and Sustainable Development of Rural Tourism thus I have been directing Agroforestry Development Projects around the world, I love traveling and hiking, caving, canoing, horse riding, gardening and organize dinners for my friends. I am terribly busy as a volunteer with the Italian Action Team too. I also love to dance and teach Latin dancing.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
Actually there are two: one is teaching, taking care of the newcomers, passing them all my (limited) knowledge about seamanship or boat-driving etc, helping them to feel comfy in this new environment; the other is staying on the bridge, I love the thrill of navigation, keeping course, checking the radar, and feeling the responsibility of everybody's' safety in your own hands

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
It would be to have enough of a cultural shift so that we see ourselves as related to the outside world, not separated, but being part of it... it would be a revolution!

The Fog

Patches of fog surrounded the Esperanza as she crossed over the Grand Banks © Greenpeace/Pitkanen

Here's another update from Satu...

Grand Banks of Newfoundland get the following definition in the Admirality Sailing Directions for Newfoundland and Labrador: "The Grand Banks of Newfoundland and its adjacent waters has the destinction of being one of the largest and most persistent areas for sea fog in the world. The fog is often dense and frequently extends over large areas in summer. Most of the fogs in the area are sea fogs and are caused by warm moist air from the Gulf Stream moving North and condensing as it passes over the cold Labrador Current. The combination of dense fog and icebergs within this area is especially dangerous for shipping. May and June are the peak months for icebergs when the retreating pack ice releases many of those carried South by the Labrador Current, but icebergs can be present in any month of the year."

Icebergs indeed. The place where Titanic sank is not far from the Grand Banks. If Titanic had headed straight with the bow first towards the iceberg instead of trying to avoid it and that way exposing her vulnerable side to it the whole tragedy could have been avoided. Lower speed in waters known for icebergs would not have been a bad idea either. Esperanza has a massive steel bow and is an ice class A1 vessel but I would still rather not like to see her against an iceberg. Therefore we are keeping a close watch for anything unusual in the water as long as we are in an area known for navigational hazards such as ice. There has actually been one sighting of ice this week. Although the growler (as a small floating piece of ice is called) was not that big the situation was nevertheless taken seriously. The only problem with keeping an eye out for ice is poor visibility caused by - surprise - the Grand Banks fog.

It has been several mornings this week that the whole crew has woken up to a blank whiteness outside. Sometimes the fog has come in patches, other times it has surrounded us the whole night. When sailing in darkness with the visibility down to "I can't see the forward mast" the radar becomes a valuable tool. To an unexperienced radar observer such as myself the false echoes and the disturbance on the screen make it look like a blur one should not attempt to navigate through in close to zero visibility. Was that an iceberg? Do whales show in the radar? Why does that spot show on this radar but not the other one? A more experienced sailor is able to filter out the fishing vessels lined up along the edge of the Grand Banks. The fog is also present daytime, and whenever the rays of the sun penetrate the drizzly moist air the sea gets a magnificient azure colour. And there come the dolphins hopping on the surface, the spray of the humpback whale and the steady movement of a flock of pilot whales moving past the Esperanza, maybe looking for a tasty lunch in the waters of the Grand Banks.

-Satu

PRESS RELEASE: "The cod has gone, the rest is next"

Greenpeace exposes fisheries failures in the Northwest Atlantic

Halifax, Canada - The Greenpeace ship Esperanza arrived in the Northwest Atlantic today to document the indiscriminate devastation of deep-sea marine ecosystems caused by the most destructive of all industrial fishing methods - high seas bottom trawling.
60% of all high seas bottom trawling occurs in the Northwest Atlantic by only a few countries (1). The vessels drag weighted nets along the sea floor. Huge chains or rollers attached to the front of the nets destroy everything in their path, including highly sensitive cold-water coral and sponge forests. They also catch numerous other marine species, which are thrown overboard, dead or dying, as 'trash'.

"Even the fishing industry itself concedes that this is the most damaging of all fishing methods. These fleets bulldoze the ocean floor with their nets, killing everything in their path. Unless the UN adopts a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling now, much of our rich ocean life will be wiped out and more fisheries will reach the brink of collapse," said Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner.

The destruction of deep-sea life in international waters off the east coast of Canada is especially troubling because, unlike most other international waters, there is a regulatory body in place to regulate high seas bottom trawling in that area. A Greenpeace report released today: The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization: A Case Study In How Regional Fisheries Management Organisations Regularly Fail To Manage Our Oceans shows, however, that the NAFO has failed to consider the impacts of industrial fishing on the marine ecosystem as a whole (2). In 2005, moratoria continue to be in place on four out of the six groundfish stocks that they manage, because they have been so overfished. (3)

"For 25 years, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Management Organisation (NAFO) has failed to protect the marine environment in this area, leading to the destruction of some of the world's most productive fisheries - the most infamous example being the collapse of the northern cod fishery," said Bruce Cox, Executive Director of Greenpeace Canada. (4)

"Without radical changes, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as NAFO will be unable to protect deep sea biodiversity and will continue to struggle to sustainably manage their fisheries," said Martin Willison of Dalhousie University.
Notes to Editor

(1) The ships are from, among others, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Canada, and Russia.

(2) For a copy of the report visit:
http://www.greenpeace.org

(3) "The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation: a case study on how RFMOs regularly fail to manage our Oceans, "Greenpeace International, June 2005 at http://www.greenpeace.org, p 4.

(4) Abundant cod resources first attracted European fishers to the waters of the Northwest Atlantic hundreds of years ago. In the 1950s, this fishery became industrialised. By the late 1980s it had collapsed as a result of overfishing. A moratorium on cod fishing was established in 1992 and has yet to be lifted.

The MV Esperanza documentation follows a similar tour by the Rainbow Warrior in June in the international waters between Australia and New Zealand. Greenpeace exposed a New Zealand bottom trawler throwing a 500 year-old piece of coral overboard that it had ripped from the seabed while fishing, and hauled up in its nets. See: http://www.greenpeace.gen.nz/gallery/

For more details of the tour, and to follow the ship's diary, visit: http://weblog.greenpeace.org/deepsea.
Contact information
Racine Tucker-Hamilton, Greenpeace International, +1 202-436-1039
Bunny McDiarmid, GP Campaigner on Esperanza (satellite rates apply) +871 324469014
camp1@myez.greenpeace.org

Meet Clay: Stowaway!

Name: Clay
From: France
Job: Stowaway

How did you come to be working on Greenpeace ships?
I was looking for a way to get across the Atlantic because I'm tired of Europe. I want to see new places an meet new pigeons. When I spotted the Esperanza in the English Channel I could see that she was heading in the right direction and I have a thing about the colour blue.

What do you do when you are not on board?
I race against other pigeons for the pleasure of my master but I've grown tired of this life and don't want to work for anyone anymore. I want to work for myself. When we get to Canada I plan to set up my own racing business. I think I'll race snails.

What is your favorite thing to do on the ship?
Create a mess for the humans to clean up.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
I'd stop it from shaking backwards and forwards every time I walked.

July 24, 2005

What Lies Beneath?

As the Esperanza crossed the Grand Banks we were greeted by cetacean life such as pods of Atlantic white sided dolphins, pilot whales and baleen whales of all shapes and sizes. The colour of the water changed from dark stormy blue to bright turquoise and indigo as the depth of the ocean floor rose from 2000 to 70 meters. From up here it's easy to forget that there is a lot more on the bottom than we see on the top. We may have seen several different species breaking the surface but down there it's a totally different story. There are millions of animals in the deep! We are always delighted when dolphins or whales reveal themselves but it's a shame we can't see how beautiful it is down there. For many people it's out of sight and out of mind.

The Grand Banks is an area where there is a lot of nutrient mixing in the water column and this supports an great abundance of life. Seamounts like the Grand Banks are biodiversity hot spots (meaning they are home to a very high number of different species compared to other environments). As a Zoologist, I know that it is incredibly important that we protect areas rich in diversity since this is the key to a healthy planet. For those of you wanting to know what kind of things are down there I will try to tell you as best I can. The most important types of animals living on seamounts include deep water corals and sponges, which provide safe and bountiful homes for many other species like crabs, mussels and deep water fish. Scientists believe that there is a myriad of life (perhaps as much as 100 million species) existing in these deep water ecosystems, which is still unknown.

I am always fascinated by marine biology but I find the deep sea stuff the most interesting because the foundation of life down there is not the sunshine as it is up here at the surface and on land. The bottom of the food chain involves creatures (like bacteria) which can make all their food from chemicals instead of needing sunlight. I am ashamed that my own species is capable of destroying things like this on such a massive scale. We are most probably causing the extinction of species we have never even seen and we have no idea what kind of impact that will have on nature. Bottom trawling wreaks havoc on the ocean floor, catches much more than the targeted fish species and frequently occurs in areas where there is limited biological understanding of the species being caught, or the ecosystems in which they live.

The current fisheries management is simply inadequate for the protection of this important marine habitat. Bottom trawling is the most environmentally damaging form of fishing on the planet but it is still legal on the Grand Banks (and other areas of the world). We need the UN to agree to a moratorium on bottom trawling in the high seas when it meets next year and we need help! Please take part in our new cyberaction by sending an e.mail to Fisheries and Environment Ministers, and stay updated on the campaign by registering as a cyberactivist.

We're in Halifax as of tomorrow morning and we return to the Grand Banks on Monday to find out who is doing what out there. I can't tell you much else so you will have to wait and see.

L.

As I was writing this, Leo the second mate called to tell me there was a whale off the starboard side of the ship. Tara and I ran from the campaign office through the bridge and out to the wing to see a huge tail submerge into a pool of white froth. Fantastic! I will never get tired of seeing whales even if it is only just as a puff of diffused spray in the air.

July 22, 2005

Nearly There

The captain, predicts the weather with a crystal
ball © Greenpeace

We have sailed right over the Grand Banks and have come over the other side, south of Newfoundland. We've been fortunate the past couple of days with the weather but it's been incredibly foggy at times and we've had to rely heavily on the radars. Quite ironic that an organisation which is anti-war benefits greatly from something, which was invented during a war. I've been up on the bridge a lot doing watches with either Mike, the chief mate or Waldemar, the captain. I really love being up there not because the view is nice, or because we regularly spot dolphins or whales, but because I absolutely love spending time with these two guys.

Mike has a very quirky sense of humour, which has me in stitches and he'll frequently burst into song at unexpected moments. Last night we stood on the starboard side wing keeping a lookout in front of us. The light from the setting sun was diffused by the mist around us and everything was coated in a hazy pink glow. Mike started singing some lyrics from a musical and then off we went together with extracts from all the musicals we knew. Marry Poppins, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! West Side Story and on and on. Some people say sea watches are boring but obviously they have never done them with Mike. He is very laid back and patient and encourages me to figure things out for myself rather than ask too many questions but he's never condescending despite his many years working at sea.

Being on watch with Waldemar is an very different experience. He'll be incredibly serious for a while but then suddenly come out with something really bizarre like picking up the old bulb from the search light and pretending to predict the weather with it, as if it was a crystal ball. Everyone on this ship is a little crazy (you have to be in order to survive in this environment for 3 months at a time), but these two are something else. Both Mike and Waldermar tell great stories, which help to make the watch more enjoyable. They have both skippered ships all over the world and in this regard they are wiser beyond their years. I have learned a lot from them about the ship and the sea although the main thing I've realised is just how much I don't know (and probably never will). I have deep respect for these guys, who can do things I can't even begin to understand and deal with such great responsibility every day.

The rest of the crew are now winding down on the usual ship work and starting to prepare specifically for the campaign. Sabine who is our mechanic just showed Satu and me how to look after the battery charger for one of the inflatable boats incase it rains while we are on watch, We actually had to climb up inside the boat and look into the battery compartment. I giggled to myself when I got in there because this was my first time in a Greenpeace inflatable. I've had so many dreams about this. I've always imagined that my first time in one of these things would be such an exhilarating experience... speeding across the waves chasing environmental criminals, yet here I was sitting on the edge of the boat, not going anywhere at all, not even in the water, talking about a battery.

I hope next time I'm there, it will be a little more exciting (sorry Sabine!).

L.

July 20, 2005

Meet the Crew From the Tasman 2005 Expedition

Meet the Crew From the Tasman 2005 Expedition »

Reality Check

The bow of the Esperanza as she made her way through the large ocean swells © Greenpeace

We are now just east of the Grand Banks, and South West of the Flemish Cap. It is a beautiful day and the sea is pretty calm here, a little overcast but mostly sunny. My i-pod solar panel charger is tied to one of the railings outside on the Boat Deck and I have just come inside from walking round the ship 5 times and doing yoga on the heli deck. It's the first chance I've had to get some exercise, which does not involve cleaning anything or walking up stairs.

We've had an eventful past couple of days since the weather has been pretty rough. It's been very windy, with waves smashing right across the bow. The decks outside were flooded with streams of salt water and sea spray was blowing around everywhere. Even the pigeon (which we've called "Clay") was perched above the Poop Deck where he normally lives, because that was wet too.

I noticed the ship began to move in the early hours of Monday morning. I was finding it hard to stay in the same place in my bunk as everything in the cabin began to start moving around. Jackets on pegs started to swing, books on shelves began to slide backwards and forwards, batteries in cupboards were rolling around and the entire structure of the cabin, including my bunk, softly creaked and adjusted itself every time the ship tipped to one side and then back again. At first we were rolling in the swells but then as the winds changed direction we started to pitch up and down. By wake up time (7:30), it was difficult to walk around without being forced in all directions except the one I wanted to go in. I didn't feel seasick so I went down to eat something. It was quite entertaining to watch other crew members arrive in the mess and attempt to move around normally getting breakfast. It looked as if they were all doing some sort of bizarre choreographed dance routine. Surprisingly nobody bumped into each other or spilt anything.

Normal cleaning duties commenced at 8am. I cleaned the lounge which is my favorite place to clean since you can play music in there while you sweep, mop and wipe. All the drinks cans in the sink must be crushed so that's always fun because you get to use the can crusher. This works by placing a can in a hole and pulling a leaver down, which has a round metal bottom that falls on the top of the can and crushes it with very little effort on your part but it feels incredibly satisfying to do it. I'm told this contraption was actually on the old MV Greenpeace. It's nice to see all the time, that nothing is ever wasted if it can be re-used.

So anyway, ah yes, the bad weather. Well it was quite fun really and not seriously bad. Waldemar, the captain, came up to the bridge that morning and said to me "Welcome to reality!". Unfortunately a couple of people had to stay in bed because the motion of the boat was a little too much for them, but they were soon up about about after they got used it later in the day. I learnt to stand in a doorway and look at the water whenever I felt a little weird and that really helped. However, when I tried to write on my laptop I felt queasy so I decided to keep busy some other way. Eddie, the bosun sent me to clean an area very low in the ship, which is closer to the ship's fulcrum, where you feel the motion much less. So I was very happy to be down there scrubbing away for a few hours.

I was wiping around some big red metal boxes on the wall when all of sudden this yellow flashing light went off right above my head together with a very loud alarm. I thought "$#!T, What did I do? What did I do?". I came running out of the alley way and into the engine control room to tell the engineers about the alarm but when I found Robin, the electrician he seemed not to care at all, when in response to me yelling "but the alarm is going off!!" he said "yes I know" and remained sitting down. Later I learned that this alarm goes off all the time when anything happens in the engine room, which needs the slightest attention and the engineers always here this so Robin knew someone was dealing with it.

Later that day the sea got a little calmer but we were still riding the swells like a roller-coaster. The captain announced that there were dolphins on the bow so I followed Luke out there to see how easy it would be to get to the bow without getting wet. It was OK so we went to look over the side. There were two Atlantic White Sided Dolphins riding the bow wave and the swells around the ship. Satu came to join me and Luke returned to work. We watched the dolphins playing around for a while until the ship rose into the air and collided with a big wave when it came down again, forcing the water to spray up and over the bow, soaking Satu and me in a cold spray. I thought it was fun but Satu wasn't too impressed. Once again I ended the day in wet clothes.

The fog has just crept in around us and there is a ship on the radar, 10 miles away.

L.

July 19, 2005

Tick Tock

Mannes shows his not so serious side in the engine room © Greenpeace

Hello to everyone. My name is Mannes and I am the chief engineer on board the Esperanza. I have been on board for over 125 days now and my clock has started ticking. Four months ago when I left my house, Spring was just making its way up and now, by the time I get back, I have to start collecting fire wood to get me trough the winter. Its a funny thing, sailing. You leave your house to go to work and by the time you put the key back in to your front door, it's one or two seasons later.

Five years ago I joined Greenpeace after being a donor for ten years. It was in my head already for a long time, to join one of the ships and a discussion in a pub with a former Greenpeace engineer made me cancel my job interview for a factory fishing company and the next morning I was on the phone with Greenpeace. Five years... and not one single minute has been wasted. I sail around the world with the most strange selection of people, helping out were ever we are directed, from the northern hemisphere to the southern, from summer to winter and the other way around, changing our ships clock's forward and backwards as we make our way trough the time zone's.

This must be one of the most dynamic jobs there is. Not always easy, but never a dull day. My job on board is to make sure that all the technical systems are in a good condition and stay that way. Of course I also fix broken things, from the sandwich toaster to the main engines, from the boat cranes to dripping taps. It is a busy but very rewarding job.

Today has been a good day, the ship has been pitching and rolling a lot due to bad weather and the sun has been hiding behind the thick dark grey clouds for most of the day. Once in a while it is good to experience some bad weather, to look out over the ocean at the big wild waves, the white foam flying around..... It makes you realize how small you are and how nice it is to have good weather.

Ah, I said a good day, yes. This morning, during the coffee break I was looking out over the ocean, when I saw dolphins jumping out of the waves, having fun and eating. Thats probably all they want to do. They were jumping from one wave to another with no other reason than having fun and acting crazy. Seeing something like that while you drink your coffee......it turns any day into a good day.

Good..... I can sit here for another hour talking away, but as I said...my clock is ticking. Its time to prepare to go home, to get ready to see all the people that I have missed for the last 125 days and to get ready to leave all the people that have been so close to me for the last months. But before it is that time I have to clean my cabin, and count down the last seven days.

Thanks for your visit,
Mannes.

Unlikely Survivor

Me on the Esperanza © Greenpeace

Yesterday morning I woke up at 8am even though it was Sunday and we can stay in bed as long as we like on Sundays. I wandered up to the bridge to see who was on watch and offer them breakfast and I found Mike who was happy to put his order in for a full English breakfast, which Rien was offering down in the galley. Usually we make our own breakfast but today we could order whatever we wanted from a selection of pancakes or omelets etc. When I delivered Mike's plate he told me we had a guest and to go look out on the port side wing of the bridge. To my surprise there was a seabird sitting quietly on the deck. Apparently he's arrived in the very early hours and had been in the same place the entire time. It didn't move as I approached to get a closer look and I felt almost certain that it was sick or injured. I pulled out one of the bird identification books we had and sat down next to it while Mike and I pondered over what kind of seabird it was. We figured out it was a northern fulmar.

I asked Mike how possible it was to help it but he told me that when seabirds come on board like that it is unlikely that they will survive even if you feed them. However, I decided to try it anyway so I went down to the galley and got a tin of sardines.

When I offered a small piece to the bird it didn't seem to be interested at first so I moved it around under its beak and all of sudden it pecked at the fish and ate it. Immediately the bird rose up onto its feet and hobbled around on the deck. After eating some more fish it opened its wings and caught the breeze on its feathers as it headed towards the side of the deck, facing towards the ocean. It stopped for a moment but then pushed itself over the edge. I thought at that point it would fly off but it dropped down to the lower deck rather helplessly and landed under one of the life preserve rings so I raced down the steps towards it, thinking I might have help it over the side of the ship. I stood back a little hoping not
to frighten the poor thing and I whispered "go on then, go on" and at that moment it launched itself off over the side of the ship swooping towards to the water and gliding over it skillfully, across the waves right into the distance. A huge smile stretched across my face .... one thing I knew for sure.... it was going to survive another day at least.

That's pretty much how I feel about the environmental movement. Even if things still go from bad worse (and I hope that they don't), you can't say that all the dolphins and all the birds (and every living thing) we did save were not worth the effort. Every little thing we do for the environment helps something, somewhere, even if only for a short while.

You can start making a difference online by registering as a cyberactivist

-Lisa
(a cyberactivist since 2004)

July 18, 2005

Singing Waves

Sunlight on the Atlantic Ocean © Greenpeace

The following is by Rossano...

'There is silence where hath been no sound
There is silence where no sound may be
In the cold grave, under the deep deep sea'

(Thomas Hood)

'Ma in questa immensita' si annega il pensier mio
E il naufragar mi e' dolce in questo mare'

'But in this immensity my thought drowns
and it is sweet to sink in this sea'

(Giacomo Leopardi)

The sun is already deep in the west, its light turning into a daze of gold, while I stand on the bow, submitted to the power of the spell of the Ocean. Enchanted, waves breaking gently against the hull, their sweet low music soothing my ears and heart, I follow the pattern of flashes, dazzling lights, bright new stars that the setting sun paint on the rippled surface of the dark sea: a sudden created firmament in an uncharted cosmos. Water, water, water all around me, filling my soul, covering me as in a sweet cold womb... I melt in it, I dissolve in it, I am part of it, no troubled mind anymore, a deep peace taking hold of me. Dark, crystal clear water, its astonishing beauty moving me deeply, its energy a low hum permeating everything: life-bearer, voice of many singing voices, light and darkness intertwined, full of meaning and purpose. How many times I have said to myself: if there is a God, THIS is the only way my eyes would be able to see it... as a sea.

The sea... and while I let it cast its spell on me, I know again why I am here, why I have made this choice, why I find myself on this ship in this moment: and it is not for Greenpeace (in itself a tool, not a goal), nor for the thrill of sailing, or to drive boats of so much power and girth, not to be in action or having my picture taken! It is for the beauty of this world, its incommensurable beauty, to do all that is in my power to defend what is left of it. I am here to pay my due, together in mind and heart with all those people that share this awareness, all those little brave vulnerable warriors holding the last barrier, keeping the last ethical stand, fighting the final ethical battle against the fiercest onslaught that this Earth has ever had to suffer in the course of its existence. So huge and powerful is the rate of destruction... but I am here to fight to try to stop it, and fight I will!

But I deeply need help, from all of you reading these few lines: so next time you will be walking on a beach, or along a river or running stream, please stop a moment and close your eyes and let the music of water fill your heart, take you away... and be with me.

From above the stars and under a blue-light sea...

a gentle hug
Rosso

July 17, 2005

Torpedoes?

Lights on the bridge at night © Greenpeace/ Pitkanen

The following is written by Satu, one of our deck crew volunteers...

Welcome to the bridge of the Esperanza, just passing over the Faraday Fracture Zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Our bearing is 256, our course over ground 257 and our speed 9.7 knots. Wind comes from West South-West and its force is about 2. Visibility is good, even though half an hour ago we passed through some mist. The radar shows no ships within a 48 mile radius. The sea reaches a depth of over 2000 meters underneath us, and the Faraday Seamount is about 70 nautical miles north. We are close to having reached half way to our destination Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Esperanza is being steered by an autopilot. This doesn't mean she can be left alone. No, every moment of the day one of the three mates or the captain is on duty, taking care that everything is okay up on the bridge. Each watch lasts for four hours, and during the night from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. - a deckhand is accompanying the duty mate, keeping a look-out and doing regular rounds to detect fire and especially at heavy seas to see that everything on board is in order.

The past week I have been up on the bridge every night from midnight till 4 a.m. I am accompanying our Dutch 3rd mate Mathijs, who has been happy to teach me some of the secrets of the bridge. I guess that makes his work load a bit lighter when I insist on doing the positions on the charts or keeping the radio log. On open sea the watch is not too challenging. We have an alarm on the radar warning us if any ship is closer than 8 nautical miles from us, although it is always more important to keep good watch with our own eyes. The most important task left for us to do is to take care that the ship stays on course. Factors such as wind and current can make the Esperanza drift off course. Last night for example we had to correct our course several times because we were drifting too far to starboard.

The safety round means that about once an hour I go down from the bridge, checking the whole ship for anything unusual. The round takes me from the radio room through the lounge, mess and galley to the engine control room, laundry, wet room and the heli hangar. The ship has an extensive smoke and heat detector system, but nothing beats your own eyes and in case of fire your own nose. The fire alarms have been tested several mornings this week, and from experience I can assure you that the ringing is strong enough to wake the dead.

Nothing warns us about the sea life, though. Last night we were standing on the bridge wing when I suddenly saw some white stripes in the dark sea. "Torpedoes!" Mathijs joked. But the weren't torpedoes. They were three dolphins that headed for the Esperanza, and in the pitch dark night of the Atlantic Ocean we could hear them singing while playing at the bow.

- Satu

Never a Boring Day

Tara, our assistant cook takes pride in her Swedish muffins © Greenpeace

I arrived on the Esperanza in June when she was in Finland, to volunteer as an assistant cook for three weeks. Now one month later I'm still on the ship cooking and I am going to stay 6 more weeks! That's how it always goes when you're with Greenpeace, you never know what's coming next. Before I joined the ship I had just finished my Art studies when the opportunity to sail came. I love the ocean and to sail and I had been cooking before so of course I said yes to the job. The day in the galley starts at 8 a.m. in the morning and ends at 8 pm at night, but within that time I also have a break at 3 p.m. There has never been a boring day yet. Surely I have some days where I have been really tired and exhausted, but still not bored. It's like on the ship in general, there is always something happening.

Yesterday Rosso, one of the deck crew, filled in for Rien (who is normally the cook on board). Rosso has been working as a professionally cook before so I expected some new useful things to learn from him.

I arrived to the galley at 3 pm to start preparing the food and saw Rosso really busy with cooking and baking all kinds of stuff already. Loud Italian music was coming out from the cd player and Rosso was dancing and singing while he cooked. After ten minutes of crazy dancing we continued cooking. One hour later we where still dancing and singing, though also cooking, when Rosso thought it was time for some good role play. I was standing totally innocent, chopping a cucumber, when the attack came. Terrified I looked up to see a mad-eyed Rosso pointing a huge spoon at me, with a bowl on top of his head and a saucepan lid as protection on his chest. I rapidly took up another spoon (not as big as Rosso's, to my disappointment) and the fight started. the battle lasted for about 5 minutes followed by hysterical laughter.

Then we decided to keep on cooking. The food is always supposed to be ready at 6 pm so we had plenty of time left and after a lot of hard work the food was finally ready. The people arrived at 6 and looked so impressed at the assortment of Italian food, which was a total success.

After everyone finished dinner there was a lot of cleaning to do so I was preparing for 1 hour of straight cleaning but Rosso told me that I could go. He said he would take care of everything. So after a discussion about whether or not I should go (I was feeling a little bit guilty about going), I decided that I had earned some free time. I played guitar for a while (I am learning while on board) and then feeling tired but happy I fell asleep that night thinking about tomorrow's food and what might happen that day.

-Tara

July 15, 2005

Female Sperm

At 11am GMT, this is our position ©
Greenpeace

Bet the title has got your attention but that's actually the highlight from yesterday. We saw a female sperm whale off the bow. I've never seen a sperm whale before so I was simply ecstatic when we identified it. Someone announced on the ships phone system "whale on the bow, whale on the bow!" so many of the crew raced out with the hope of catching a glimpse of it. Whales are much harder to spot that dolphins since they often disappear beneath the surface for any period of time up to 30 minutes. Everyone else but me gave up when we did not see anything within a few minutes. I stayed a little longer at the bow and just as I turned around to go inside, Leo (second mate) yelled at me from the bridge "Lisa, stay there!", so I did and sure enough he shouted out "there it is again!" but I couldn't see anything so he said "you must up to the bridge, it's easier to see it from here", so I hurried up the stairs and was greeted by a bushy puff of ocean spray in front of the ship when I
got up there. At first, nobody knew what kind of whale it was. Chris, (radio operator) and Mike (first mate) were also standing on the bridge with us.

I knew from the blow that it was not a humpback since humpback blows are much taller and as we saw the top part of the body rise out of the water we could see it had a very small rounded dorsal fin and ridges along it's back. Then we saw the top of the head, which was very rounded at the front. I thought it was too small to be sperm whale (in my mind, these are always bigger than humpbacks) but when I looked in one of our guide books I discovered that female sperm whales are half the size of males (males can reach over 60 feet in length). It probably wasn't a juvenile since young whales are usually spotted close to adults and this one was all alone so I'm pretty sure it was an adult female.

She stayed mostly on the surface, only taking shallow dives so we never saw her tail but just before she disappeared behind the ship amongst the waves she raised one of her side flippers in the air as if to wave goodbye.

We had just passed over the continental shelf and were in very deep water, about 300 miles from the nearest land. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a whale. It's amazing how they never get lost. Do they use celestial navigation like the old sailors used to? Do they use the earth's magnetism? Do they use sounds, smells (sensing the contents of the water) and currents? Scientists think they might use all of these tools but nobody really knows for sure. I think it's funny how some people put our own species on some imaginary pedestal above the rest of the animal kingdom but in order to navigate the oceans we need to use an assortment of man-made tools (maps, compasses and funky rulers) and without new advances in technology like radar and satellites we'd find it very difficult to avoid collisions and running aground.

Yet animals like turtles, butterflies, birds and whales don't need anything extra to find their way thousands of miles across oceans and continents. Some species return to exactly the same places each year (accurate even to the same nest or beach). Why do we think we are so clever? We have the ability to completely manipulate any environment but we choose to take advantage of this to the extent that we overexploit every inch of the earth resulting in our own demise and the extinction of hundreds of other species with every year that passes. Are we really highly intelligent animals in the grand scheme of things? Surely the whales and all the creatures of this earth, deserve a lot more respect that we give them.

Sperm whales were once prime targets of the whaling industry yet thankfully remain the most abundant of the large whales though their populations are still recovering. They are most often found in canyon waters, over the edges of banks or continental slopes (where we were when we saw one) but are threatened by collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear.

I wonder what we will see next. One thing I keep seeing is creamy white floating round blobs with radially protruding feathery appendages . Nobody has any idea what they are yet there are thousands of these things all around us every day. They might be some kind of floating mollusk but I really have no idea (and that's pretty irritating considering I'm a Zoologist). I will endeavor to catch one and photograph it. However, the sea is quite rough today and I haven't seen any this morning. Perhaps we have left them all behind.

L.

July 14, 2005

Up and Down

Tom has a thing about the stairs! © Greenpeace

Here is a post from Tom, our assistant Radio Operator.

Let's assume that the average staircase has 12 stairs. Let's also assume that the average ladder has 12 steps.

People seem to forget about them but all the time we walk the stairs. It starts when we wake up and walk up to the lounge to have a quiet cup of coffee (1 staircase ), when the cup is empty you have to bring it down again to the messroom (1 staircase) and up to the radio room (2 staircases). The first thing we do is clean the radio room and the deck, which it is on and that also means cleaning a toilet (so that's 1 staircase). When the cleaning is done, you have to fetch a new towel and bring the old one down to the laundry and back to the radio room (6 staircases). The morning job of today was putting up a new cable on the mast, we packed nicely so we didn't loose to much time going up and down and then we started our attempt to reach the highest point of the ship (another 2 staircases and 2 ladders) It wasn't so sunny as the last couple of days so the crowsnest was a welcome shelter.

We managed to lay the cable quite quickly and all that needed to be done was finishing up but first a little break with coffee in the lounge to warm up (another 2 ladders and 5 staircases).

After the break we went back up on the mast (5 staircases, 2 ladders) and finished up the cable job. Back down to the radio room to clean everything up, including bringing stuff back to the workshop (2 ladders, 6 staircases)

Time for lunch (2 staircases)

After lunch some more coffee in the lounge and back to the radio room (3 staircases). Today is a good time to start cleaning up the stuff under the bench so most work is in the radio room (sorry, no staircases in there). I had to help out the captain a bit with some small computer issues and since the captain was on the bridge I had to walk up to the bridge 3 times (total of 6 staircases).

Coffee break and back to the radio room (6 staircases).

After the break it was quite calm and I was trying to figure out what to do with the assorted cables. A good idea seemed to be to put them in the radio room store so I went down to see if there was still enough room and came back up again to pick up the spare cables (6 staircases). First I printed out an inventory of the store and got the printout on the bridge (2 staircases). Back down again with the cables, there were a lot of them so I had to make 2 trips (9 staircases). Then I went up to the galley to talk to the cook about good boxes (1 staircase) didn't have any so back down again (1 staircase) to lock everything up.

Back to the radio room (3 staircases).

5'o'clock, end of the working day, down to the lounge to have a drink with the rest of the crew (1 staircase).

Back to the radio-room to write this little piece but first my headphones to listen to some music (3 staircases).

That's it for now, I think that tonight I'll probably do another 10 staircases so let's calculate
77 staircases = 924 stairs
8 ladders = 96 steps

Now let's say that a stair is 16 cm high and a ladder 20 cm that would make a total of 16704 cm.

So today I roughly climbed a tower of 167 meters high ;)

Greetz,
Tom

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

The frying pan in the galley rocks in the opposite direction to the ship so nothing falls out. © Greenpeace

Yesterday I worked in the galley with Rein because Tara, our assistant cook wanted to spend some time working on deck for a change. I started at 8am and my first tasks included slicing giant blocks of Dutch cheese using a scary slicing machine and peeling about 30 cloves of garlic (manually). Then we saw the dolphins I told you about. I must add though, that this time they were common dolphins (in the photo). When I returned from the dolphin extravaganza I made 2 large tubs of hummus. Rien put some classical music on the stereo and I thought...yeah this is great! Hah! Little did I know what awaited me......

When it was time for lunch I helped put the food out through the little window which joins the galley to the mess and the crew flooded in like vultures surrounding a fresh corpse. Rien had been made green pea soup but he likes to call it Greenpeace soup or Rienpeace soup. I wont say anything about how it tasted though since some things are better left unsaid but so far Rein has been serving the best food (with exception to the soup) I have ever had on a ship. However, I can't get used to the fact that he is a cook because he looks more like he should be playing music with "The Who". He's been working with Greenpeace for about 30 years but doesn't have the kind of big headed attitude you might expect. Every few minutes in the galley he had me in fits of giggles and was very laid back when I accidentally left the fridge door open for over an hour. At least he was very laid back about it initially...

I had told Rien that I was good at making vegetarian chili so he said I should make it for dinner. I gathered up all my ingredients from the fridge downstairs but it was really difficult to estimate how much I needed for over 20 hungry people. I collected 10 large yellow and red peppers, a large bowl of mushrooms, 6 tins of tomatoes, 12 white and red onions 4 large jalepenos and a packet of fresh red and green chillies (while being very cautious about not getting trapped inside the fridge). I stood opposite one the port holes in the galley and chopped everything up ready for cooking. It was such a surreal experience cutting vegetables like I normally do in my kitchen at home only instead of the same stationary hedge which I always see outside, this time I looked up to see wave after wave rushing past the window and gannets flying swiftly over the surface in search of fish. I stood there feeling like I was in some kind of bizarre dream but then I looked at my watch and realise
d that if I was to feed the entire crew of the Esperanza on time I had better get a move on and stop staring out of the window!

All of a sudden I realised the top of my head was on fire! Well it wasn't quite bursting into flames or anything but it felt like somebody had put some very strong tiger balm on it. I had touched my head after cutting the chilis and they were now starting to burn my hands too! My fingers turned red and began to swell up. Luckily I had finished cutting everything and just had to fry it and simmer it all in the sauce but it's been more than 24 hours since then and my hands only started to feel normal about an hour ago. I was very cautious about how much of that hot stuff I put in the food and in the end it turned out fine. Rien had made the beans and the rice and everyone loved it.

Then came the hard work. We had lots of washing up to stack into the dishwasher and things to put away. I had to sweep and scrub the floor and at that point I realised that working in the galley is actually hard and maybe not quite as fun as I expected. I was feeling tired and my muscles ached from all the scrubbing and the slicing and cleaning. I have new respect for the cooks now and in return for my hard days work Rien thought he would repay me by soaking me with the fire hose (well I was a little hot from all the chili burns!). I suppose he hadn't quite forgiven me for the fridge door.

L.

Fire Drill and a Stowaway

Well it's been another great day to be at sea. Finally, we have escaped into the open ocean. After two months in the Baltic I had almost forgotten what it feels like for the ship to move around in the water. Today the Atlantic is dead calm, but here, unlike in the Baltic, you get the great ocean swell. Thus we have pitched and rolled gently onward in our tr ans Atlantic crossing, and as I write we are leaving behind us Ireland, the last land mass before Canada. At last, what the whole crew has been waiting for, we are venturing out into the wonderful offshore world of the deep sea.

The weather is great, all sun and no wind, and as I was exercising on our new running machine, I wondered what the next month has in store for us. After all, we are heading into the North Atlantic; one of the most inhospitable pieces of ocean the planet has to offer. Moreover, we will spen d a fortnight on the Grand Banks, the famous fishing grounds whose waters have taken so many souls. I recently read the Perfect Storm, a true story about one of the fiercest storms ever recorded- when three hurricanes met, causing an incredible extreme weather event..... they met over the Grand Banks.

It's been a hot and busy day. Working below in the engine room I wasn't surprised when I observed the thermometer finally peak at 37 degrees Celsius. Just at that moment the fire alarm sounded, and I rushed upstairs to report in at my muster station. It was a fire drill. Remon and I are the BA team. This means we are the first to enter any fire. We hurriedly climbed into our fire protection suits and breathing apparatus, helped by Jan and Robin our dressers. Meanwhile, Mannes, the chief engineer was relaying information to us that he was receiving via radio communicatio n with the bridge and Mike, the Chief mate from the other muster station. The "fire" was in the engine room. After a final briefing, and a cursory good luck from our team, we descended to see what we could do to save the engines, and in a real incident, the ship. The BA gear only provides approximately 15 minutes of air, so we needed to act fast. We set up the hose reel, and attached the foam nossle. However, in a trick of the drill, the fire pump was out of action, and so no water came. We went back up and out of the engine room to inform Mannes that there was nothing we could do; he needed to order a CO2 dump in order to extinguish the fire.

As the drill unravelled, Waldemar, the captain, informed the crew to prepare for an abandon ship. A human chain was made to retrieve the survival suits from their stowage, whilst others and I prepared the disembarkation ladders and simulated releasing the life rafts. In the end, (luckily), Waldemar decided we did not need to abandon ship, and that instead we could all go and have another of Rien's lunches.

Our stowaway, a somewhat dishevelled racing pigeon, was discovered yesterday. After a lengthy crew meeting, we decided not to report him to the authorities, and have instead adopted him and made him an honorary member of the crew. After some rice cakes and water, and a good sleep, at midday today he looked much healthier as he dragged himself from his pit like a disgruntled teenager. We'll have to see if he can find his way home from Canada. If not, I hope he likes maple syrup.

-Luke.

Sun Down, Dolphins Up!

I walked out onto the bow last night to watch the sunset once again. I didn't take my camera with me this time because I know it's better to watch these things through your own eyes rather than through a camera so I left it in my cabin. Rossano, one of the deck hands came to join me just before the sun hit the horizon. I asked him how likely it was to see dolphins right now and he said it was possible so I kept saying "come on dolphins, come on!".

Just as the sun disappeared Rossano pointed ahead of us and said he saw something. I couldn't believe it..... it was dolphins leaping out of the water and heading towards the ship. I ran inside to tell other people and grab my camera. When I came out again everyone was leaning over the bow and gazing into the water below. As I peered over the side I saw 3 dolphins swimming alongside us, coming up for a breath with a whistle and burst of air before diving under again, dropping back and then swimming ahead of the ship. My pictures were not so good since it was getting dark but we could see them very clearly and even from 20 feet above the surface on top of the bow we could hear their high pitched squeaks. They stayed with us only for a few minutes and then ended up off off our stern. We think they were bottlenose dolphins since they were very big.

This morning, I finished peeling garlic for Rein the cook and started to head up here to the campaign office to tell you about the dolphins last night but Ramon, the fitter came leaping up the stairs yelling "dolphins! dolphins!" at me and sure enough as I came out with my camera in hand there they were again. Dancing about in front of us. Perhaps we will see dolphins a lot on this trip. I have seen them many times already, all over the world but my feelings never change. I still hope to see them all the time and when I do, it's like the best gift ever. They are such amazing creatures to watch because they swim so fast and jump around a lot and make noises that put a big smile on your face.

I do think we are very luck to see them so soon on this crossing and for me seeing them means even more than before since back home in Bermuda I recently organised an action campaign against a new swim-with-dolphins prison and just heard that we won before I left Amsterdam. I think dolphins, as with all wild animals, should always be free and it makes me so sad when people put them in captivity for no other reason than to make money.

Seeing wild dolphins always reminds me that fighting to save the marine environment is worth all the sweat and tears.

-Lisa.

July 12, 2005

Virtual Tour

Today we have been heading along the south west coast of England. It's still pretty flat out here though the boat has been starting to move up and down a little more now throughout the day. Last night the sunset was beautiful and the sea was like glass. We were 16 miles south of the Isle of White at 8PM (GMT +1) and I am told that these kind of conditions are very rare here. It was just gorgeous.

I am slowly getting to know my way around the ship since I have been doing lots of small tasks in order to help the crew. So now I feel confident that I can take you on a tour.

Starting at the bottom, where I don't think I have even been yet, we have the "Tank Top", this includes the lower levels of the engine rooms and lots of other areas like oil storage and engine stuff. We won't go down there because the engineers probably wouldn't like it. Above that is the Tween Deck and here we find the engine rooms, which make lots of noise! Also on this deck there are store rooms (with the biggest bag of red lentils you have ever seen!), fridges, freezer and laundry. Apparently it's easy to get trapped inside the freezer and if that happens you have to press an alarm and hopefully someone will hear it and come and get you out.

One level up, here is the main deck and this includes accommodation, the mess, galley, engine control room and workshops and out the back is the Poop Deck which is covered on top but open to the elements on the sides. If we go up, we are now on the Boat Deck, which is where my cabin is. It's pretty big and includes 4 bunks, a sink, a table and cushioned bench, another desk and a chair and 4 small wardrobes for clothes. There are 4 port holes in this cabin so it's quite light but the only down side is we keep getting a horrible smell come through from the sewage vent outside so sometimes it's really unpleasant to be in here. I share this cabin with two other crew members. More about them later. On this deck we also have a lounge, a tiny library with one chair and more cabins. Outside is the heli deck with a hanger, which currently contains exercise equipment rather than a helicopter. We also have some of the famous Greenpeace inflatable boats stored on this level.

Up again and we are on the Accommodation Deck. The captain, chief engineer, radio operator, 1st and 2nd mates sleep here. Also on this deck is the radio room where Chris the radio operator (RO) and Tom, his assistant, work. In the entrance to this room is a rainbow curtain made from coloured ribbons which you have to walk through in oder to get to Chris. I always seem to get tangled up in the thing, which is probably why it's there... for Chris's own personal amusement. Outside we find more inflatables. There are 7 in total on the ship.

So let's walk up the final set of stairs to the bridge. At the top of the stairs is the campaign office. It's a fairly large room with a table in the middle for working and computers on one side. This is where I have to go to send my e.mails and web logs. then round through the door straight ahead is the bridge. Here we have a great view of the ocean and lots of panels with buttons. The most noticeable thing about the bridge is that there is no big steering wheel like you would expect. There is a tiny knob instead, which you can turn to manually steer the ship and it is smaller than my hand! Most of the time the ship is on auto pilot though, so there is nobody steering the ship but always someone on the bridge to monitor what is going on. Also up here we have radar screens, GPS positioning stuff, compasses (electric and old school), VHF radio, satellite communications, telephones and navigation charts.

So that's the Esperanza. Of course there are lots of areas I've had to miss out because the ship is so big but hopefully you get an idea of what it's like. I can tell you more about the ship's history another time but before we end the tour.... here are some facts about the Esperanza. She is nearly 73 meters long and nearly 15 meters wide. She weighs 621 tonnes and sleeps 40 people. She has 2 main engines (used only if we need to go somewhere quickly), 1 diesel electric engine (uses less fuel, for long transits like this one) and 3 auxiliary engines (for maneuvering). We are currently averaging about 9 knots on the diesel electric engine and we are using about 60% less fuel than the main engines would use. that's why it is taking us 15 days to do the crossing. We could there faster but it would be a waste of fuel and money!

The crew are all busy and everyone seems to be in a good mood today because the weather is so nice. My cabin mate Satu, who is a volunteer from Finland, has been blasting the rust off the steel on the bow while other deckhands have been painting while strapped to a platform on the funnel. Leo, the second mate from the Netherlands is currently on watch and has just been showing me how to work out our position on the navigation charts. He's really enthusiastic about being at sea. Right now we are about 10 miles south of Wolf Rock, which is a little isolated rock off the south west coast of Lands End. It has a lighthouse on it which we can see through binoculars.

So that's it! We have cleared the south coast of England. All that is left to pass is the Scilly Isles. Six miles to our starboard side is a military ship and all around us are fishing boats. The ocean is about 95 meters deep here but once we leave the continental shelf behind and get right out into the middle we will be in about 3000 meters of water!

-Lisa.

July 11, 2005

You Can't Sink Hope

The Esperanza left Amsterdam at 7pm yesterday. We made it through the lock at about 9pm and are now at at sea heading across the Atlantic. We are going to be investigating bottom trawlers on the Grand Banks but first we are heading to Halifax to pick up the campaign crew. The crossing will take 15 days!

So let me introduce myself for those of you who aren't already aquatinted with me. My name is Lisa, but some people know me by my cyberactivist name "ekkaia" or "that pesky thing from the Greenpeace cybercenter". I've been volunteering and working for Greenpeace only for a short while so things like being on a ship are really new for me. I'm excited about nearly everything (though cleaning the toilets? - hmmm maybe not so much) but working for Greenpeace for me is like getting to go backstage and hang out with my favorite rock band and the crew on the Esperanza actually do rock (not just because of the the motion from the boat). So I'll be writing the web log for the next month and torturing some crew members until they agree to write stuff too. Some of them have fantastic stories to tell.

I arrived in Amsterdam last Thursday after leaving London during the terrorist attacks. I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have made it to Amsterdam without missing my flight, or worse. Luckily I decided to go to the airport that day by car, but usually I get the trains (a much more environmentally friendly thing to do) and if I had done that I would have been traveling through London at the time of the bombings. My heart goes out to the all those who have been affected by this terrible event.

The time in Amsterdam went by quickly mainly because there were lots of things I needed to do in preparation for leaving on the ship and being at sea for two weeks. My first priority was chocolate but I also I had to find another memory card for my camera since the one I purchased at the airport did not work at all. It ate up 20 beautiful pictures I took of the Esperanza and refused the give them back to me. Greedy little card. I should stamp on you and throw you in the sea to drown (only then a fish, turtle or whale might eat you and die so I can't do that! - bah!)

On Sunday we had an open ship. It was the 20th anniversary of the Rainbow Warrior bombing and we played a documentary about that in the mess (eating area) in addition to showing a special music video in the helicopter hanger. I helped set the ship up for this event by decorating certain areas with anti-nuclear banners and photographs of the Rainbow Warrior and the crew in 1985. It was an honour to be remembering the Rainbow Warrior while on the Esperanza. I think it was very symbolic also, since this ship's name means "hope" in Spanish and 20 years on after such a major set back we are bigger than ever, fighting environmental destruction on an even larger scale thanks to the hope and support of all of our members and those who have fought so hard to make Greenpeace what it is today. I am very proud to be a part of it.

As the sun set last night I stood on the bow and leaned out over the big blue. The water was fairly calm and the ship was rolling gently over the waves. The wind rushed through my hair, past my ears and over my skin giving me goosebumps. Behind us I watched the land slip away into the distance as the night sky grew dark, with a faint red glow on the horizon beneath the clouds, and the ocean turned as black as ink.

I tried to start writing a post when I got inside but ended up falling asleep instead. It had been a long day and the movement of the ship was so relaxing I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Lots to do today. I'm helping the cook unload some boxes form the store room and probably finishing some painting that I started yesterday. The crew have been showing me how to do deck hand duties and including me in as much as possible so I am always busy, which is great because there is nothing worse than feeling useless and bored. The sun is shining so I am going to go outside now to do a little worshipping. No sea-sickness as yet, which I am delighted about (although while I have been typing this I have been rubbing my left eye with a slice of cucumber because it wont stop twitching - sounds weird I know - I think I have to stop drinking coffee).

-Lisa.