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