Whaler off the starboard bow

Bit of a surprise this morning. Near Höfn, our next port of call, we
came across the Sigurbjörg Hölmavik - a whaling boat at work.
They had landed a minke, and were hauling it in. Naturally, we launched
one of our boat, not to interfere, but to at least take pictures and
bear witness.

The whalers didn't like that, and their captain radioed the Rainbow
Warrior asking that he recall our boat. Derek informed him that our
boat would not interfere, and would stay safely to stern while
observing. The whaling captain replied by citing a new Icelandic
maritime regulation, which prohibiting motor vessels from coming within
one mile of a whaling ship at work. Hmm, would that include all ships
or just Greenpeace ships?

He also said he was hunting, but there was no one at the harpoon and no
one in the crow's-nest spotting for whales. Then again, the ocean is
very calm and visibility is good - maybe they can spot whales fine from
the bridge in this weather, and we are here to talk to the Icelanders,
not make trouble with the authorities. Our boat reluctantly breaks off
and returns to the Rainbow Warrior.

Most of us did not expect to see a whaling ship at work during this
trip. Our route and schedule is public - the whalers must have known
there was a chance we'd be passing by. Maybe they liked the idea of
landing a whale in front of a Greenpeace boat. More likely they were
just going about the business of whaling, and didn't much care one way
or the other what we saw. Maybe they didn't even think that we would
document their hunt - of course that is part of what we are here for.

If the whaling captain (sorry, didn't get your name), or any of his crew
are reading this, we'll be in Höfin all day. You're
welcome to visit and discuss the issue of whaling.

Derek (captain of the Rainbow Warrior) talks to the captain of the Sigurbjörg Hölmavik by radio. (177K mp3 audio)

-- Andrew