We begin to prepare the boats and get them to the rail. I position each one ready to launch at a moments notice. I can see the Sunrise getting closer from my vantage point on the crane. There is ice in the distance and some huge bergs nearby. We launch the Billy G at about 7am. The crew for the Mermaid arrive, but Zeger the Dutch mate who was to drive had been on watch from 4am, so Paul the chief mate said so............Phil you wanna drive? Give me 4 minutes I said as I made for my cabin. I threw on my gear mostly consisting of good old New Zealand Merino and a dry suit. Five minutes later I grabbed a driver's helmet from the helicopter hanger, boarded the Mermaid, turned the batteries on and the crew boarded, Odin from Norway and Nienke from Holland. Some fiddling from the R.O. (radio operator) and we had communication with the bridge and we were lowered to the water.

We drove away from the painter, the line hanging from the ship to us, and made for the protection of the stern of the Esperanza as we turned 180 degrees to rendezvous with the Nisshan Maru. Ah it felt good to be behind the helm again. We make for the pilot door and pick up the snapper and shooter and head in the path of the NM. We film a transfer of a dead whale from the Yushin Maru number 2 to the mother ship and head after her. We ride her wake for some while then get out next to her and the Billy G gets their fire pump going and moves out in front.

It is a sight to behold as the rooster tail of water hits the bridge and clears it slowly of people. It worked, they are not very happy. This goes on for a while the windscreen wipers going on he catcher with the driver still in position on the fly bridge and getting wetter.

It is a stunning day but water added at that speed makes for nasty wind chill. In fact it is a really stunning day......... The catcher is making for the ice. This is about to get interesting.

I have been fortunate to have driven in the ice before in Spitzbergen in front of glaciers, in and around Barrow the Alaskan Arctic, Herald Island in the Russian Arctic, Prince William Sound in S.E. Alaska, around the coast of Greenland last trip and now in Antarctic waters.............but never in front of a whaler.

We dodge and weave through the ice as they try to lose us. Several times they attempt to force the Billy G into the ice, anything to stop the cold water stopping them spotting whales. With the help of Odin and Nienke we ducked and weaved through the leads in the ice, often appearing in front of the Yushin Maru awaiting their next move. I have lost the use of the bucket on the jet unit so when we go into a lead in the ice we are committed, no stopping. The catcher would show bursts of speed and as we are flying through the narrow passages of ice we notice there are Adele penguins standing, their arms outstretched watching in horror, even seals lifting their heads to see what the fuss is. I even thought that I saw the penguins clapping at one point.

The Billy G got stuck at one point so we spun around hit them on the bow, remember we cannot go backwards. I asked my crew to jump in the front of the Billy G and for Nathan the driver to give it full welly in reverse, we got out of the ice vice, grabbed my crew and headed back after them. We got back in position as the gunner walked forward and assembled the explosive head onto the harpoon. The spotters have seen something. A Skua, a large gull with a raptor beak fly's from the ice. We dodge and weave on the bow, sometimes having to wait behind as the catcher goes through heavier ice then making our way back in front worried they might get a shot away. The gunner stands above me putting his gloves on staring down at us, stretching and giving us the finger. I slow to just in front of the bow, the bridge can't see us, they blow their horn, the photographer gets his shot and says urgently, "watch yourself Phil" as we move from our position a metre off the bow.

The Billy G is out of juice for the water pump and heads back to the Esperanza, which has caught us up after 25 miles or so since we left the Nisshan Maru. We stay with the catcher until the Billy G is relaunched and makes her way back. After 5 hours driving we too head back, waving to the fresh Billy G crew as they retake their position.
We have to wait for a clear patch of water next to the ship before we hook on and get dragged to the deck by the crane.

The mechanic gets to work on the bucket problem and I go get changed and do a radio interview with the Dominion Newspaper. I grab some lunch and head out on deck to launch the Mermaid, her fresh crew ready.

Mid crane, the chopper appears at our stern asking for a "green deck", we comply and I leave the crane to dart under Tweety as she hits the deck to put the hook on the underbelly. I reclimbed the crane and finished what we were doing, they are off.

The catcher has made a break for open water and the spray of a minke breathing is evident. The Billy G weaves and dodges in front as the catcher is thrown around like an inflatable boat, in pursuit of a kill. Some great boat driving from Alain the Frenchmen and crewing from Caterina the Italian means that they fire but miss the shot. Frank the Captain offers to buy a beer when they get back. The frustration of missing means that they miss a whole family of minke's, including young, until they fire again at a minke that strays into their path.

The whale has been shot in the back and is thrashing around after being dragged to the surface, unable to dive. A rifle appears and four shots make the sea of red bigger. The Antarctic minke whale continues to thrash violently. The Esperanza approaches and from the bridge wing the whale is seen to still be breathing. She is still breathing 15 minutes later as they secure her to the rail tail first and still struggling the Yushin Maru leaves the area drowning the whale slowly. A sign above the whale on the catcher says "Greenpeace are barbaric pirates". We retrieve our boats onto the deck. The crew is a mess..................

I try to point out that many whales have been killed here since this place became a sanctuary in '94 and over 6,800 in the last 18 years have been taken for "scientific research" most never documented or photographed. This one, her pain and struggle well documented for the world to see, hopefully will not go in vain.

We follow the catcher back through the ice to make her transfer to the mother ship. Seven and a half hours later the whale is handed over. Not a good day for that catcher today. They pack up and leave, we follow the NM heading north.

Yesterday, we put Tweety up and low and behold on the horizon is the whole catcher fleet coming with them and one observer. Awaiting the helicopters return a snowstorm passed. Maybe a white Christmas? No one is really in a Christmas mood. Today as we head south, happy in the fact that we finally have a ship that has the ability to keep up with the fleet. In the past they have disappeared over the horizon and we have had to find them again.

As I write this, no whales have been killed in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary the last 40 hours. Oh and I made a Christmas tree.