21 December 2005
A nice day for swimming...in Antarctic waters
by Mikey, onboard the Arctic Sunrise
Suddenly a whaling hunter vessel with its whale catch attached to its port (left) side was moving in to position to transfer its catch to the Nisshin Maru and moving fast towards us on our little Nouvarinas port side. So we quickly put on the throttle and aimed to cross her bow before she moved into position for a whale transfer process. This was so that we would not catch the swell coming off her fast, hard turns in the water and to get ahead of her so that we would be amongst the transfer process rather than be left behind in the choppy wake.
With the fire hoses spraying us, whale blood spray coming out of the outlet holes on the Nisshin Marus hull and little iceberg bits in our path, the situation was a bit hairy. Next thing I know I feel our inflatable rolling over on to its right side steeply like it was floating in midair (which I think we may have been) and I knew the boat had crossed its point of no return and was going to flip. So instinctively I dived out of the boat to clear its hull as it was flipping over.
It happened so quickly that I did not even have a chance to look around to Mathijs who was driving, to say something along the lines of "Mama Mia". My last memory before over-turning was a hunter vessel heading towards us and so I thought to myself 'surface, see where it is and doggie paddle outta here!' As soon as I hit the water I covered my head and realised my survival suit hood was not on and letting icy water in. As I surfaced I was looking for Mathijs and trying to grab a line from the upturned inflatable in the water.
Mathijs surfaces near the propeller and grabs hold of a boat line. I am floating away so I lunge at Mathijs and grab hold of him from behind to pull myself in closer to him and the inflatables hull (thanks Mathijs!). We manage to slither onto the upturned hull out of the water and next thing we know the hunter vessel is turning at high speed right next to us as we are perched on the inflatables hull. My mouth drops again with another 'Mama Mia' going around in my head. Fortunately the hunter vessel slips by safely and Mathijs and I are left slumped on the hull of our boat panting and giggling while we wait for the immediate and concerned response from the two closest inflatables from our sister ship the Esperanza.
My best guess for why the inflatable overturned is that we were first hit by a wave on our bow from the Nisshin Maru and simultaneously a wave from the fast, turning hunter ship that whacked the port side of our inflatable and there you have it; a recipe for flipping!
Comments
fantastique - felicitations a tous!
Great job done by all aboard our vessels, finally you have found them. All my positive energy goes to the crews, especially those on the RIBs in these tough and cold seas.
By succeeding, You are offering to us and to our children the most beautiful Christmas gift.
Might the spirits of the whales bless you.
francois
Posted by: Francois at December 21, 2005 12:21 PM
I was on board the Mermaid today. Alain, the driver, saw Philster signaling from the deck of the Esperanza, and we broke off the action to assist Mikey and Mathijs. Jetska beat us there with her Novi, and by then Mikey and Mathijs were sitting high (but not very dry) on their upturned boat.
We took them on board the Mermaid and evaluated for signs of hypothermia or injury. Both were in good shape - mobile, plus fully alert and aware. We carry heat packs and emergency blankets as part of our safety kit, but this time they were not needed. The swimmer's cold weather boat gear had prevented the situation from becoming truly dangerous. We gave them warm drinks, chocolate and a tow back to their ship while continuing to watch for hypothermia.
Aside from resulting in a good weblog post, the whole incident was a reminder that operating in this hostile environment is no joke. But then it is no accident that we are well trained and prepared for this sort of thing.
-- Andrew (web editor on board the Esperanza)
Posted by: Adele at December 21, 2005 3:23 PM
Thijs,
So glad you are OK. So glad you are out there fighting for us. You are a damn good soldier and the whales are lucky to have you on their side!
I hope to see a post written by you soon! Nudge nudge.
Miss you.
L.
Posted by: Lisa at December 21, 2005 3:30 PM
Delighted to know you are okay and humbled by gratitude for all that you do. Thank you -
Kim
Posted by: Kimberly at December 21, 2005 6:06 PM
Good to hear all is well! Carry on the good work! It good to hear that there are people that are willing to go the exta mile for the earth and it's creatures....
Posted by: Stuart at December 22, 2005 2:48 PM
Thanks for all your attempts at protecting us from those guys! Be careful okay?
-Whale
Posted by: Whale at December 22, 2005 3:56 PM
For Thijs so glad that your oke I miss your jokes and I hope to see you next year. Save the whales for us you are doing very good work I'm so very proud to know you
Len
Posted by: len van gelder at December 24, 2005 11:05 PM
applaud your magnificant actions at the cutting edge of endevouring to preserving the southern oceans heritage of unique mamal species. "Good on you mate"
Posted by: trevor simpson at December 27, 2005 9:38 PM
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