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28 February 2006

Letting go

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

All set to go - we had spent the morning in the hold, sorting, sweeping and securing for sea. Moff the doctor, Adam the scientist, and Timo the activist joined the crew in preparations. As we busied ourselves, a press-conference was happening two decks above, in the helicopter hanger. Before an enormous blue back-drop with the 'Defending our Oceans' motif, Sarah from media and Sebastian our Spanish oceans-campaigner addressed newspaper journalists and television cameras. Our drinking water tanks overflowed with fresh water and Kirsten provided the ship with last minute requests such as coriander and rice flour.

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Talk to us - open thread

by Dave, onboard the Esperanza

Any questions, words of encouragement, hate mail, love mail, peace mail, etcetera: about pirates, fishing, the oceans, Greenpeace, us, what it's like to work onboard a ship - anything like that, send it our way. Really, we'd love to hear from you. This thread is a public forum.

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26 February 2006

Southern Ocean leg highlights

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

With the ship is about to depart on a new leg of the Defending Our Oceans expedition it is time to finally close out our first leg - where we went right down to the ice of Antarctica to protect the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Here are a few of the updates from that work:

Zen and the art of opening a door - As our two ships head south through the notoriously rough "Roaring Forties" and "Fearsome Fifties", Lally muses about life on a rolling ship. More along the same vein here, here and here (we had a lot of rough weather).

Gorton's = Whaling - We get down to naming names, highlighting companies with a connection to the whaling industry. More about Gorton's and whaling here.

Kisses from the Kyo Maru - We find the whalers and go take peaceful action to shut down the hunt. They respond with violence. More about the whalers' first deliberate "collision" with one of our ships here (including video).

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Departing the ship

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The ship is ready to depart Cape Town, and its time for me depart the ship. It was a privilege to be on board for the first leg of the Defending Our Oceans expedition - helping protect the Southern Oceans Whale Sanctuary. I will never forget the brutality of the whaling, the peaceful determination of my crewmates, the beauty of the icebergs or the feeling of standing on the Antarctic ice shelf.

I am sure the work yet to come will be equally amazing. A small part of me wishes I could stay on to take part in person. However, while on shore, as I go about my life away from these ships, I will take great comfort in the fact that there are people here, and working in many different ways, for a green and peaceful future. I also look forward being part in that work as an Ocean Defender.

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Arctic Sunrise leaves for Brazil

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

Repairs all complete, provisions on board, fresh crew eager to leave - the Arctic Sunrise cast off from where it was docked behind us and headed out to sea. It is a rare thing when two Greenpeace ships are docked next to each other. It's a big world and the demands of work usually keep our ships on the go in separate parts of it. For us, it was great having the Sunrise crew around, but at the same time we know how desperately they are needed in the Amazon. Recently we have seen a huge victory there, but if the forest is to be saved we need to keep the momentum going. From the Greenpeace International website:

The decree by President Lula of Brazil to create the 6.4 million hectare (around 16 million acres) conservation area is a great victory for the people of the Amazon battling landgrabbers, cattle ranchers and loggers. The decree calls for around 1.6 million hectares to be permanently protected and totally off limits to logging and deforestation.

Another 2.8 million hectares will be used for sustainable logging concessions to prevent deforestation and ensure well-managed forests. Development guidelines will be improved in an additional 2 million hectares of forest.

Whilst the 6.4 million hectares is a victory for many communities in the Amazon, it still represents less than two percent of the total Brazilian Amazon. An area one-third the size of the new conservation area is lost every year in the Amazon to logging, soy plantations and cattle ranchers.

So with lots of shouts and waves, away they went. We wish them success and safe travels.

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25 February 2006

Settling in

by Julie, onboard the Esperanza

It's been more than two weeks since I joined the Esperanza and I thought it would be about time I shared my view about this whole new experience. I now almost feel like a real sailor as there are new people coming on board, and being even more clueless than I am now...

So what is it like being a volunteer on a Greenpeace ship? Coming from the Greenpeace International office and being an urban creature, it did feel extremely strange at first to suddenly be propelled into this new microcosmos. It does still feel strange.

My biggest fear, besides seasickness, which I obviously couldn't have gotten yet, was claustrophobia, both physical and social. The physical part faded away when I had my first tour of the ship. I thank the Russians every single minute of my stay here, walking through the alleyways, for their rigour and spartanism, for this coldness which manages to prevent me from getting claustrophobic. The social part vanished when I started talking to people, almost in a journalistic (or spy, as one may say...) state of mind, and realized the diversity of people composing the crew, the large number of reasons why they devoted their lives to Greenpeace and its ships in particular, the different scales of sociability from one to another...

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Haiku contest winner declared

Picking one haiku out of the many submitted was just about the hardest thing I've had to do on this whole trip - in part because there were so many good ones, and in part because I don't know anything about haiku judging. However, after consulting with my crewmates and much agonizing, I settled on...

Vast icy water
A minke whale surfacing
Breaking Sunlight

Posted by: Wiebke Lotz at February 4, 2006 11:10 AM

Thank you for that Wiebke. Even though it doesn't perfectly match the syllable "rules", it paints an excellent picture of a moment in nature, which I feel is the most important thing. But there were so many fantastic entries (almost 200!). Here are my personal favourites...

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24 February 2006

Introducing Pete

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The last time I saw Pete was at this same dock here in Cape Town, but on a different ship. He had just finished three months as captain of the Esperanza, and turned it over to Frank for the Southern Ocean work. Before he headed home, we went together to visit a facsimile of the original Rainbow Warrior.

Real Eyes (a South African production company) had found a fishing vessel that bore a resemblance to the original Rainbow Warrior, and were modifying it for a documentary being shot by French director Peir Boutron.

In this photo, Pete is the short haired guy in the grey shirt. We're in the mess room, which was later converted to Fernando Pereira's cabin for the shoot. The guy with no shirt is Denis Seiglan, one of the art directors. He's explaining the technical details of how they will flood the room during the scene where Fernando is killed.

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Ed's week

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

Well it's been another busy week, with tidying the ship, trying to sort out what we can keep and also throw away/recycle. There was a moment today when Mike (the first mate) was trying to decide on the ethics and decision regarding the throwing away of an old pillow, as he doesn't like to throw anything away. It was complete with yellow stains, probably from a past seasick incident and maybe some sleepy salivation activity. After a quick discussion, we arrived at the conclusion, that everything is an illusion and everything ultimately becomes recycled in the great scheme of things, so he came to his senses and threw the disgusting thing into the bin on the quayside!

There's also been some painting of decks, cleaning and more cleaning and some magnificent garbage work by fellow deckhands / Marta and Julie, along with a bit more cleaning, loading of equipment and food and fuel for the ship. The Arctic Sunrise is now out of dry dock and is back just astern of us. I have also found time this week, after work, to go out and buy myself a cup and a glass in anticipation of a future shortage of these precious items and, of course, some secret chocolate supplies (the excitement is never ending).

Just to confirm to myself that there is something missing in my life and I am possibly developing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I found myself painting showers and the washroom at three o'clock this morning, whilst on watch, ready for the next arrival of people to the ship. I think it will be good to sail again soon.

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Mother Jones: The Last Days of the Ocean

Nonprofit magazine Mother Jones has just released a very interesting report on their website entitled "The Last Days of the Ocean". They attempt to answer such questions as "We're pushing our seas to the brink. Can they be saved?" Plus they give us a sampling of "creatures at serious risk of disappearing from our oceans and our dinner plates". Check it out!

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23 February 2006

Against the ropes

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

The last cage of ship's provisions was being lifted on board using the forward stores crane when the ship's agent arrived on the quayside, and handed me a brown paper package tied up in string. It was a small package and light, I held it by the string as I read the postmarks, "from Prague!" Off I went across the decks and down to the Engine room to find 'Mr. Turbocharger'. "I have a shipment from Prague," I announced. Michelle’s face lit up when he saw the Czech Republic stamp. He had waited three days for the aluminium bushes (parts for the turbo-charger) to arrive.

"Mike, can we put a load on the starboard engine?" asked Bent, at seven thirty in the evening, we are ready to test the turbo. I called Eddy and Nadia together to discuss the plan. Andrew, the web editor lent a hand as we ran out three extra stern lines and two additional springs up forward. On the bridge I put a steering pump on and Nadia went down to the steering-flat to visually inspect the position of the rudder against the helm indicator. The gangway came up and the engine rev's increased. The phone rang, Kirsten was telling me about the power failures throughout the country, South Africa’s Nuclear power station is in trouble – lot's of problems.

"You can go ahead Mike," called Bent when the engine had warmed up and reached 750 rpm. I moved the lever forward on the consol, the ship thrust ahead. Weight came onto all the mooring ropes holding us in position, I increased the load on the engine gradually, all the time receiving feed back from aft and watching the springs forward. Slowly I kept increasing the pitch until the forward springs started to sing, they were bar tight, we were just below half ahead on one engine. Still the engineers wanted more load, I pushed the levers a little further, the ropes sounded like a chiropractic back cracking, I called for Nadia to stand clear of the ropes, this was my limit.

"O.K. Mike, we are finished, you can bring her down now", it was a welcome call from the engine room. The test had been a success and the Esperanza may be one knot faster than before. She’s ready to go out to sea, she’s restless and tonight she tugged at her moorings, in an attempt to get under way.

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22 February 2006

Loading stores and the letter "T"

Today we loaded on new towels, toilet paper, tofu, tea, tined vegetables and lots of other things that don't start with the letter "T", including (because I know you want to know): marmalade, rice, coffee, meat, chilli sauce, frozen vegetables, cornflakes and muesli. Stand by, because tomorrow the fresh fruits and vegetables.

All very exciting because it means preparations are nearing completion.

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20 February 2006

Weekly preparations report

by Pete, onboard the Esperanza

Another week has gone by and our preparations are proceeding apace. Sometimes it seems like one step forward and three back. But that's quite normal.

Apart from the daily routine of ship's tasks we've been making repairs and modifications that are needed, charts and nautical publications have been corrected and new ones ordered where necessary. We've drilled in emergency fire fighting and had familiarisation safety tours (all part of on-going on board training and safety). Stores have been ordered, and this week we will load them, plus take on fuel and top up with freshwater. We'll be ready to go towards the end of the month.

Also, during the course of the coming week, the rest of on board Defending Our Oceans team for this leg will arrive. For the last couple of weeks it's just been the crew here, and we're all looking forward to their arrival. We don't make any distinctions between crew and campaigners - we are all working together towards a common purpose - and as crew we know that none of our ships would ever sail as an effective and efficient campaign tool without the work of committed people throughout the rest of Greenpeace.

I have been involved in some of the planning for Defending Our Oceans, which has been going on for some months now. The state of the world's oceans demands a campaign of this nature, and Greenpeace has the expertise and maturity throughout the organisation to do this. It has taken a lot of hard work, commitment and resources to get even this far, and we are now about to embark on a year's voyage which is the focal point of the overall project.

The Defending Our Oceans campaign is an exciting and innovative one. It will provide the platform to change the way that people currently think of the oceans. It is quite a change from "traditional" Greenpeace campaigning - this time we are looking at the oceans as a whole instead of focusing on one species, industrial practice or specific area. A vital (and integral) part is the work and participation of our Ocean Defenders. I hope a lot people will join us, not just throughout this year, but also into the long-term oceans campaigning which will follow afterwards.

The world's oceans, and the life they support (including our own), need our help before it's too late. We don't just want to expose the destruction and over-exploitation that is taking place there. We also want to show and suggest and demand positive and achievable solutions to stop this abuse and to save and revitalise the oceans.

We can only do this with your participation. The first step is to sign up and become an Ocean Defender - become part of it.

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Ocean Defenders visit part 2

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

With the interior of the accommodation starting to shine from a weeks worth of elbow-grease, Eddie and his deck team tackled the decks and superstructure of the ship, blasting it with copious amounts of fresh water - the salt of the Southern Ocean was washed away. The Esperanza feels lighter and glistens in the sun, a breath of fresh air has swept through and she is nearly ready to go back out to sea again.

Two groups of twenty Ocean Defenders from Cape Town paid the ship a visit in the afternoon. Andrew, the web editor and last remaining from the Southern Ocean, joined me in taking everyone on a tour of the ship. We watched the crew video from the first leg of the Defending Our Oceans campaign, in the mess room which is sparkly clean. Andrew talked of what he had seen; of how the hunters had drowned a minke that would not die - they harpooned the whale and then hung it by it's tail, head down in the water.

Last year I became a cyber-activist; having upgraded the family computer to receive high speed internet, through a twisted copper cable. My work station was open and online in November when the opportunity arose to become an Ocean Defender. "Have any of you looked through the web camera online?" I asked; on reaching the bridge. There was a general nod of acknowledgement - I pointed out the webcam behind the bridge window; that was focused on a dock-side crane. "Here with a twist of the hand we can change a cyber-world view," I turned it to face Table Mountain.

Thanks to one visitor for the Melk Tert, dit was lekker and al die matroos aan boord het dit geniet.

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18 February 2006

Cape Town Ocean Defenders visit

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The deck crew has been working hard all week, and just this morning finished a deck wash, so when our guests arrived the Esperanza was looking quite presentable.

We haven’t been able to hold open boat days here in Cape Town due to port security regulations. Instead, we sent an email to local cyberactivists and Ocean Defenders - arranging for two groups of about 20 to visit the Esperanza this afternoon. Mike, the chief mate, led the ship tour since he knows all about the nautical stuff, and I stuck to talking about commercial whaling and our work in the Southern Ocean.

The second best part was when we reached the Engine Control Room (ECR) - a place full of lights, buttons and switches, which very likely control the engines - but I am only guessing as the ECR is one of those mysterious engineering rooms where I am always careful not to touch anything. So I was shocked when Mike invited our guests press some of the many buttons. Fortunately, these specific buttons turned out to be labelled, "lamp test". They make all the indicator lights go on so you can check for burnt out bulbs. A very cool disco type effect was obtained.

The very best part of the tour was the melk tart and chocolate that two of our guests brought for the crew. Melk (milk) tart is a sort of a pie that is a local favourite in South Africa. Mighty tasty. And, of course, everyone knows that Greenpeace ships, or at least their crew, run on chocolate. So big thanks for that.

Confectionary aside, it was good fun meeting local cyberactivists and Ocean Defenders in the flesh, especially since they had so many questions. I think I spent nearly an hour with one group in the mess after I showed them a crew video and some photos from our time down south. It was great how engaged everyone was - even coming up with ideas about how we could foil the whalers and get people more involved. Fantastic.

It was a welcome contrast to the deadlocks and endless talk that I've been reading about in the political meetings updates. On our ship today were regular people more ready to take action than the world's leaders. People already making efforts to shop responsibly, lobby governments and pressure companies.

Big thanks to everyone that came down to the ship. It was great having you on board. If we manage to set something like this up again, we'll make sure that registered cyberactivists and Ocean Defenders hear about it first.

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Sea Scouts

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

As the sun set behind Signal Hill, The Sea Scouts of Hout Bay, wearing full uniform and led by my son Kai, embarked the Esperanza. I put out my wrong right hand to greet them. They had arrived in time for the duty mate, that was me, to strike the flags and turn on the deck lights. "Why do you fly the French flag?" A question from the troop as we did rounds of the ship. “Ah. It can be easily mistaken for the Dutch flag; the colours are the same. The Esperanza is registered in the Netherlands and fly’s the red, white and blue horizontally-striped Dutch flag. Whilst in Cape Town, out of courtesy, we also fly the South African flag from the fore-mast halyard. It’s a maritime tradition to fly flags only in daylight - both flags came down at sunset.

Around the ship we travelled, and on the way we stopped at the bow, to slack on the head-lines, just a little - the ship was bowsed in (the bow pulled toward the quay and the stern a way off). I warned them to stand clear of the old-man (a vertical bit with roller that guides the rope from the winch-drum to the fairlead). They watched and for a moment under the fore-deck floodlights, as I manipulated the large mooring lines, I felt that I was a sailor on stage. We have three headlines holding us in position against the strong SE’ly wind that comes out of no-where - a local anomaly.

Before the scouts disembarked an hour and a half after sunset I presented Bronwyn Glass, her brother and parents with green Greenpeace sweat-shirts. To each sea scout I gave a flag, 'Defending Our Ocean'. Then, following the right left-hand hand shake (as scouts do), down the gangway, waving their flags, they left the ship.

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UN: The oceans are in trouble...now what?

Posted by Karen from the UN, New York

The UN meeting in New York finished at lunchtime today. This is unusual. Generally, when it comes to meetings like this, they finish at 1.30 in the morning after states have argued over every single phrase, word, comma and full stop. The strategies used by countries to block decisions being made or water-down text vary. There are some countries that want to achieve real change and protect the oceans, others that are focussed on making sure their free access to rich fishing waters are secured. Still others worry about guaranteeing the rights of their shipping industry or oil and gas industry. Some simply don’t think that there should be any global rules when it comes to managing the oceans. And since most decision-making at international oceans meetings requires every state to agree for something to go forward, progress is generally painfully slow and often results in ‘lowest common denominator’ decision-making (to get everyone to agree to something, the least objectionable text is accepted).

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Goodbye New York

Posted by Cristian from the UN, New York

Well, the AHOEWG meeting in New York is over! It was quite difficult getting here due to last week storm that brought a lot of snow, and caused two cancellations of my flight from Sao Paulo [I was two days under a state of maximum alert -so to speak- waiting for my flight!]. However, as the song says, after the storm the sun came. We saw clearly –unfortunately only when getting to and from the UN building- that the snow was melting, because it was shinning and warm during most of the week in NYC. Those of us working at the crypts of the building, could not enjoy this little summer, and had to be conformed appreciating some rays of sun through the curtains…

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17 February 2006

NZ meeting ends with no action on bottom trawling

Posted by Nick at the RFMO meeting in New Zealand

The RFMO meeting at Te Papa in Wellington, NZ has now drawn to a close and the outcome with regard to bottom trawling can certainly be summarised as weak. But we’re not done yet - the team in New York continues the battle at the United Nations level.

The meeting ended disappointingly with states failing to take any immediate action to protect life in the deep sea from the destruction caused by high seas bottom trawling.

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Merav's musings and "modalities"

Posted by Merav, at the UN Meeting in New York

This has been a fascinating meeting for me, being new to oceans issues but very familiar with UN meetings and processes in the area of international security and disarmament. In that forum, we do not get to sit in on “informal” meetings like this one, so usually we only get to hear prepared formal statements or watch the governments vote, and the “modalities” (in UN lingo) of NGO participation are very strict where they exist at all.

During this meeting, in contrast, the governments are actually discussing and debating the issues. They say things like “I’ve been reflecting on the debate as it’s been progressing this afternoon, and it’s daunting.” That’s a direct quote – I was so stunned I wrote it down word for word. We never get to hear comments like that, if they are ever made, in the area of security. Best and most amazing of all, not only do the governments reflect, comment, disagree, and debate (all in diplomatic terms of course), but we also get to reflect and comment as well (after all the governments of course). So it’s true that the issues are difficult and the disagreements are deep, but the delegates seem and sound like people, the issues feel very real, and the disagreements are on the table.

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16 February 2006

The terrible toll revealed

Posted by Nick at the RFMO meeting in New Zealand

Last year in the Tasman Sea the crew of the Rainbow Warrior photographed some shocking evidence of bottom trawling's toll on deep sea life. Ancient Gorgonian coral, endangered black coral and other strange bottom-dwelling creatures all hauled up and dumped over the side of NZ flagged vessels.

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The hard facts

Posted by Nick at the RFMO meeting in New Zealand

This morning we packed up our deep-sea sculpture and headed into Te Papa where Dr Alex Rogers from the British Antarctic Survey was about to do a presentation to the RFMO meeting at a side event organised by Greenpeace.

To the museum goers we no doubt presented a slightly odd spectacle as we filed through the museum with an assortment of giant corals and deep sea creatures tucked under our arms. After a brief encounter with museum security we made it up to the auditorium, coral intact.

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15 February 2006

Roses are red, oceans are blue

Posted by Karen at the UN, New York

When the first Greenpeace boat set out from Canada in 1971 to protest against nuclear testing in the North Pacific, it was flying the flag of the United Nations. We took non-violent direct action to sea, but it seems that a little bit of Valentines Day fun is not appreciated at the United Nations in New York. Just before the meeting started yesterday, I walked around the meeting room, placing red and pink Valentines Day cards on all the desks. The cards featured a deep-sea fish known as a blobfish -- look at the picture and you'll know why and if you want to learn more about this very strange deep-sea creature or some of the other creatures that inhabit the deep-sea click here. The cards simply said:
Roses are Red,
The Oceans are Blue,
Protect high seas biodiversity,
and the world will love you.

It seems that doing something like this is a definite no-no at the UN, and I was soundly told off for it.

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Japan government pushing citizens to eat more whale

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

From yesterday's Asahi Shimbun article titled, "Officials to public: Eat more whale":

The whale meat stock soared to 4,800 tons at the end of August, before falling to 3,511 tons at the end of December. The stockpile was between 600 tons and 700 tons in 1998.

Fisheries Agency officials say the mounting stockpile could fuel anti-whaling nations' arguments that Japan should reduce the number of whales it hunts or terminate the whaling program altogether.

The agency plans to develop new sales channels and reduce prices to lift consumption.

The whaling industry in Japan is having a hard time selling their product, and the government is stepping in to help create a market for it. Sad.

How you can help end commercial whaling.

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14 February 2006

Ganesha and Ghandi

Posted by Karen, at the UN Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group of the General Assembly to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (Phew!) in New York (we'll just call it the UN from now on)

I heard today that, Ganesha, the Hindu god of innocence and purity is responsible for snow. Clearly New York needs some help. Around 24 inches of the stuff landed on New York between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. All the airports were closed, roads were closed, trains stopped running and things in general ground to a standstill. So, our intrepid policy team, poised to change the world, remained poised in various airports and train stations. Merav was stuck in Europe. Cristian was stuck in Brazil, and it took me 6 hours to get here by train (a journey that usually takes half that). At times the train stopped for ages, at times, it even went backwards. It ran out of food, and some people had to stand in the aisle all the way. It reminded me a bit of the way our oceans are managed come to think of it: decision-makers seem to think that they will face a blizzard of biblical proportions if they actually make a decision to protect ocean life.

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13 February 2006

From behind the lens

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

Jeremy, the ship's photographer from the first leg, has since headed for home. But before leaving he put together a selection of his favourite photos from our expedition to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, along with an audio commentary where he talks a bit about what he witnessed.

Launch audio slideshow.

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Come visit: Saturday, February 18, 4:30 - 5:30

Update: Sorry! This time slot is full. I'll send an email to everyone that made the list. Wish we could invite more, but I'll try and set something else up before we leave. Thanks for the huge response!

To sign up for the February 18th, 4:30 - 5:30 ship tour, post a comment to this web update (but please read the information below). Unfortunately, only the first 20 people signed up can visit. Sorry about that, but port security restrictions prevent us from having a general open boat.

IMPORTANT (please read):
1) You must leave the full name and a valid email address for each visitor. We won't publish your email address, but need it to make sure we can get you through security.

2) You can sign up either one guest, and/or up to five family members total per comment. But you have to include full names for each of them. If you need to cancel please post another comment saying so - to let someone else take your place.

3) Identification will be required by port security at the dock gate.

To sign up just post a comment to this update. If this time slot is full, check the 2:30 - 3:30 time slot.

Directions:
We're pretty easy to find since you can see the Esperanza from the Waterfront. If driving, head down Breakwater lane, behind the V&A shopping centre, and turn right on East Pier road. Go past the helicopter tour operators to the yellow gate where the road ends, and show the guard your identification.

Basically we are located at the bottom, right-hand corner of this map.
http://www.waterfront.co.za/maps/

Sorry again that we aren't having an open boat, but if there is a lot of enthusiasm we'll try to do this again before leaving. As we did this time, we'll send an email to local Ocean Defenders and cyberactivists giving them a chance to sign up before posting the invitation to the weblog. Ocean Defenders will also get emails throughout the year, letting you know what we're up to and how you can help.

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Come visit: Saturday, February 18, 2:30 - 3:30

Update: Sorry! This time slot is full. I'll send an email to everyone that made the list. Wish we could invite more, but I'll try and set something else up before we leave. Thanks for the huge response!

To sign up for the February 18th, 2:30 - 3:30 ship tour, post a comment to this web update (but please read the information below). Unfortunately, only the first 20 people signed up can visit. Sorry about that, but port security restrictions prevent us from having a general open boat.

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Defending our oceans ... in suits.

Posted by Karen, from the United Nations, New York

You don't have to wear an orange boiler suit to be an activist. While our ships are on the open ocean, Oceans Defenders in business suits are fanning out across the globe to defend the deep, knocking on closed doors in the corridors of power (or "stalking the corridors", as we more usually describe it). All too often, the Environment, Fisheries and Foreign Affairs Ministries that represent our governments focus on the short-term self-interest of their particular countries, and not the impacts that those decisions can have on our oceans and our planet. That’s where we step in. We show them what is actually going on at sea – sometimes beaming in our campaigners or the latest footage in from the ships so they can hear directly from them.

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12 February 2006

Sunday reflections

by Pete, onboard the Esperanza

I've been back on board now for just over a week, and it's Sunday so there's chance to catch a breath and look backwards and forwards. All the crew from the Southern Oceans tour have left now and most of the new crew are here. With both our crew and the Arctic Sunrise crew changing together, it was a great opportunity for lots of people to catch up - swap stories and experiences - and for us to hear first hand the accounts of the anti-whaling actions.

The Sunrise was alongside us but left on Friday for dry-docking and repairs. The advantage for me is that I now have an uninterrupted view of Table Mountain and the Waterfront from my cabin window. Well - being Captain has to have some compensation!

The last week has been spent settling in, taking over the ship and starting the preparations for the next leg of the Defending Our Oceans tour.

It's a time of transition but there's continuity too. The basic running of the ship continues 24 hours a day 365 days a year regardless of who is on board - and this is the way that ships have operated for hundreds of years. I like that knowledge and that continuity.

We have about 10 more days "on our own". During this time the voyage must be planned, charts corrected, stores ordered, equipment checked and 101 other things that can't be overlooked taken care of. From about the 20th onwards the campaign team will start to arrive.

The Captain's role is to keep an over-view, make sure nothing is forgotten, and to make sure that it's all done and that we're ready to go on schedule.

So far so good!

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11 February 2006

Ed and the dishwasher

by Ed, onboard the Esperanza

This is my first weblog (I imagine, the last also) and I have been nominated to share the wisdom and ancient knowledge of the onboard dishwasher. First things first, my name is Ed, from the UK, and I am a deckhand. I've been sailing with Greenpeace since 2002, on lots of different campaigns, and I'm looking forward to continuing the good and revised work of Defending Oceans that has already spanned decades.

So, during my harbour watch the other night, I was shown by Mike (the 1st mate) how to dismantle and clean the dishwasher, which I was to do later during my watch. Mike tried his very best to give a sense of professionalism to the job: by first showing me the on/off switch, then demonstrating the removal of the holding shelf, plug, strainer basket and strainer tray. We also agreed on the best strategy for cleaning away the old food particles from the strainers, namely with the use of a wire brush.

Mike then deliberated and decided to share with me (which I am now sharing) the 'knowledge of the salt'. This apparently has been passed on throughout the generations of his family, in an unbroken lineage (it's true). What you have to do, after removing the working parts, is get a very small handful of dishwasher salt (and not the soap, which looks the same and is in a container with a confusing label), then simultaneously cast the salt into the empty machine whilst making a wish! Ohh, the anticlimax!

That's about it really, needless to say that later that night, whilst the cleaning was happening, after having dirty water drip down my neck on to my clean t-shirt and spending twenty minutes with my head inside the machine, scrubbing the grime away, my wish was not to find a good wife, health and happiness, but only to not clean the dishwasher again.

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Whale meat dog food

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

No joke, unfortunately. It's recently been reported that some of the massive glut of excess and unwanted whale meat in Japan is being turned into... dog food. Well, that and school lunches. From The Times article titled, "Giant of the sea used as petfood":

The commercial freezers of the whale meat industry are already stuffed with 2,700 tonnes of uneaten stock, and the public appetite for the flesh is dwindling so fast that much of it will end up as pet food or in school dinners.

The Japanese Government’s response has been to begin an extraordinary drive to promote the gastronomic delights of the "scrumptious whale".

One website selling whale meat for pets shows a picture of a dog with the slogans: "I’m Charlie. I love whale meat!" and "Pets love whale meat too."

Whale burgers and whale spaghetti bolognese are appearing on school menus and the meat is being distributed to old people’s homes.

It's a glimpse of what the future might bring if commercial whaling is allowed to continue. And a sign of how desperate the whaling industry is. Really, commercial whaling doesn't make sense. Sign up as an Ocean Defender, and see our Take Action page for ways to help end it.

Read more on The Age, BBC and WDCS websites.

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9 February 2006

Haiku contest ends today

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The Defending Our Oceans/Save the Whales haiku contest is almost over. I am amazed at both the number and quality of entries so far. I'll keep the contest open until midnight tonight ship time (GMT +2) to give folks a last minute chance to enter. Then I'll get the rest of the crew to help me pick the winner - to be announced on this weblog Monday.

Read/Submit haikus.

And while you're at it, sign up to be an Ocean Defender - join us on our journey.

Important: If you submitted a haiku on February 2nd, and you don't see it, please resubmit. We had a slight technical problem. (Sorry!)

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8 February 2006

Warping

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

Yesterday morning we shifted the ship astern by about a hundred meters using the ropes; and then in the afternoon we shifted it back to the start position. The purpose of this little manoeuvre was to bring a 40-foot open-top container alongside the ship into which we placed the Billy Greene (the most loved inflatable-boat within Greenpeace).

Warping the ship astern (a nautical term for winching the ship with her lines) we ran into difficulty; the towing winch failed on the poop-deck. During the last campaign the winch had come awash with the heavy seas of the Southern Ocean and the electrical control box had filled with sea water – Electric Mike and the engineers where called to the scene immediately, but it left us with only one capstan down aft to do the warping. We had two ropes running astern and some people on the quay to shift them from bollard to bollard as we moved backwards. Pulling on one rope brought the ship astern but swung the bow of the ship toward the quay; coming into close proximity with some old cranes at the very edge of the pier. To avoid the tip of our bow colliding with the cranes we had to heave on the second stern line which caused the stern of the ship to swing towards the quay where there where no fenders and many nasty bits of hard metal protruding from the edge; like can-openers hungry for the hull. In order to avoid both obstructions we had to pull on one rope until we where close to contact with a crane, then pull on the other until we where close to gouging the side of the ship with a line of can-openers. With only one capstan we could only do one thing at a time. The poop deck was a busy place with crew running from one rope to another, and the marine director of Greenpeace, visiting from the office, watching the circus.

The container that was too narrow at the top to lower the boat directly into it; Billy Greene’s shipping cradle was too wide by two inches. Eddy the Boatswain with his forty-seven years of experience at sea glided the boat suspended from the crane wire through the doors of the container. “A piece of cake,” his comment, but the whole operation had been complex (more than I can describe in a paragraph of words) and had taken four of us off the deck two hours to complete. It was hot work in the sun replacing the metal cross beams and the tarpaulin that covered the container, Ed the deck hand from England was melting, and his legs cried cherry red. The job complete, I felt my first sense of team spirit developing.

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7 February 2006

Goodbye Billy Greene

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

The other big event today was the departure of the Billy Greene, which involved moving the Esperanza down the dock so a truck could pull up with a shipping container.

The Billy Greene is a purpose built boat, with something of a story behind it, that's being returned to Greenpeace USA. Originally, it came over on board the Arctic Sunrise. For the trip back, a cradle was built for the boat to rest on, and with newly arrived bosun Eddie driving the crane, plus a whole bunch of other people helping, the Billy G was loaded into a shipping container.

It returns to the US via cargo ship having proved its worth many times over. Both the boat and Nathan, its principle driver on this trip, will continue the good work back home. To help from your own home, check out our Take Action page.

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Shifting places

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

If you were watching our weblog shortly after 9:00am this morning you might have been surprised to see the Esperanza, with the Arctic Sunrise still alongside, moving backwards. This was accomplished with ropes, winches and sweat, but without engines.

Yes, for longer distances we do use the engines, but for just going down the dock this is actually how it's done:

The ship is held to the dock by ropes. Each one has a loop at the end that you put over a bollard (a large metal post attached to the wharf). In our case, since it gets windy here and we have a whole other ship secured along our other side, we use lots and lots of ropes. Today was calm so we took most of the ropes off, and hauled them in by hand. But we left four attached to shore - two at the front (aka bow) and two at the aft (aka back).

We also brought the gangway up onto deck - leaving a few crew on the dock. This is an important step. You will look like a total amateur if you don't leave some crew on the dock to move the ropes around.

Next someone takes one of the ropes at the back and drags the end of it a ways down the dock. Then you slack on the forward rope while using a winch to haul in the one at the stern. And voila! The ship is moving backwards.

If this is all a little hard to picture, and you have a skateboard, you can give it a try at home. Tie off two ropes to some sturdy furniture (say a desk and a couch). Note first any precariously balanced lamps, TVs, easily annoyed animals, etc. on top of said furniture and reconsider as needed. For simplicity's sake each rope should be long enough to reach your intended destination. Start at the couch, sit on the skateboard and pull yourself towards the desk while keeping tension on the couch line.

That's the basic principle. Now try doing more or less the same thing, but instead of a skateboard use a ship weighing about 1,500 tonnes and for good measure attach an extra 950 tonnes worth of ship alongside - that was this morning's job. Then, in the afternoon, we put the ship back where it started.

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6 February 2006

The mysterious Doctor

by Mike Mate, onboard the Esperanza

The Cape Doctor (a Cape Town wind named for clearing the smog away) blew all day yesterday. Having Sunday off, the crew journeyed onto the Cape Peninsula to feel the earth beneath their feet. Naomi reached Cape Point, the point of the peninsula where the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet. There she felt the fury of the gale lift her spirits. "And I watched, what's the foam that spins on the top of the waves?" she said on her return to the ship. "Spindrift," we both said together. Facing south, if she could have seen for thousands of miles; and perhaps a little to the east, she perhaps could have seen the whale hunt continuing. Jetske found her way to the top of Table Mountain and as she walked back down again through the fire ravaged fynbos, she noted rich smoky perfumes that hung in the air with each step she took. Mike and Remon, have just joined the ship with me, they listened to music from a band playing in the sun soaked and wind sheltered botanical gardens of Kirstenbosch.

I remained attentive on board the Esperanza as duty mate where I pondered over the most recent synoptic chart in an attempt to understand the weather we where all being subjected to. It was unseasonable. I could find no reason for the wind and in the late part of the evening I sat down with Captain Waldemar of the Arctic Sunrise, we had sailed together last year on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. "Where is this wind coming from man?" he asked me in his Argentinean accent. I lifted my hands up into the air and shrugged my shoulders. I pulled a face and we both started to laugh. Independent of each other we had both studied the weather maps and we had both been left feeling confused.

This gale force south-easterly that has been tugging at the ship for twenty-four hours cannot be associated with the low-pressure system in the south – it is positioned too far away. Nor can it be a trade wind - the velocity is too high and the spacing of isobars associated with the Atlantic high are too wide. "I’ve even considered the tropical cyclone way off the coast of Mozambique," I said. Waldemar leaned towards my ear and spoke softly, "I thought it was in my head man, I’m tired, I’ve just flown in from Alaska. And this wind cannot be interpreted from that chart." I looked at his hand that was close to mine on the table, "Hey man I got married!" He held his hand out to show me his new wedding band.

Both Waldemar and I had studied the weather maps, together we span forty years of at sea experience, independently we had both been confused today. We could find no reason for the gale, it had literally dropped out of the sky and perhaps it’s Climate Change. Any help from a meteorologist is welcome.

It's a Great Mystery to us.

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Signing off

by Nathan, onboard the Esperanza

After 74 straight days at sea we arrived in Cape Town under a hot, sunny African sky, greeted by the continuous chatter of gulls, an escort of harbor porpoises and the ambivalence of sea lions. Our entry was easy and we breezed through immigration and customs. We are now tied up alongside a dock within a short walk to the public waterfront, which bustles with shops and restaurants. The Arctic Sunrise and Esperanza are tied up together so for the first time since we left in late November, the two crews can finally, fully mingle.

Returning to land was a welcome event and all around it seems that spirits have lightened. The local pubs have no doubt noticed the sharp decrease in their draft stores and the increase in their coffers as returning sailors are doing what sailors are known to do. However, the delight in having a real beer or cocktail was heavily overshadowed by the happy riot that broke out when the fresh fruit and vegetables arrived within hours of the gangway landing: after more than five weeks without any fresh fruit and only the random fresh carrot or cabbage now and then, crisp, cool lettuce and crunchy grapes sparked a celebration on the foredeck. I kid you not. It took most of us hours to even bother setting foot on land due to the joyous labor of attempting to eat all the lettuce that was brought aboard.

All's well overall, and already the crew change is well underway, as folks trickle off in a slow but steady stream and others arrive. Business carries on as stores are loaded on, recycling, garbage and such are unloaded, briefings with replacement crew are conducted and various equipment specialists come and go. The Arctic Sunrise will go to dry dock for major repairs soon then leave for the Amazon; the Espy will stay in port for several more weeks before heading up the west coast of Africa, continuing the year-long ocean's campaign. For us, the Southern Ocean expedition component of this year's ocean campaign work will end as most expeditions do: with a quiet grin and a wave more than a bang and shout, the crew splits up and slips off quietly towards home as the work carries on in the hands of the next crew.

The Billy G. is ready to ship home, back to the states. She's been given an inside and out fresh water rinse and dried in the hot summer air. She's been lifted from her portside sea cradle and set on her shipping cradle, which has been built on the helideck. Her sponsons have been fully deflated and lashed in tight and the equipment has all been cleaned, inventoried and packed. In the next few days the container truck should arrive to start her trip to the Port of Baltimore, for hopefully a hero's welcome (she's been among the most valued and reliable tools we had) as well as some much-needed repairs and well earned TLC.

So, well: that's it.
It's been a great honor to work alongside this crew and my deepest respect and gratitude goes to all those who made this campaign possible.

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5 February 2006

The Cape Doctor

by Mike, onboard the Esperanza

Kirsten and the children where blown along the quayside with me, we had just been to the cinema together - a family thing. Whilst eating popcorn in that Hollywood space between home and the sea, the wind that is called 'Cape Doctor' paid us a visit. In a flurry of dust and airborne dockyard enzymes I bid farewell to my little family, then turned into the wind and headed back to my new and old home; the good ship Esperanza. I have joined to relieve Paul as chief mate in my home port of Cape Town, South Africa.

At the top of the gangway silhouetted in electric flood light stood the second mate, Naomi, she was looking down at the ropes. "I’ve run an extra head-line" she yelled above the wind, "and I think we should put out another stern-spring". The boatswain came out to assist us and together we ran more lines to the bollards on the quay, coming up to four head-lines and two spring-lines forward, four spring-lines and two stern-lines aft. The South Easterly gale was coming from ahead and had reached force eight, gusting nine (about 40 knots). The situation was intensified by having the Arctic Sunrise tied up along our starboard side. The wind whipped in between the bows of the vessels and levered the Sunrise in its attempt to pull the Esperanza from her berth.

I live on the Cape of Storms and walk on her beaches. She was named such by the Portuguese captain Bartholomew Dias, the first navigator to beat against the incessant South Easterly gales in his little Caravel in 1488. I have sailed around the Cape many times; and been battered by her tempestuous seas. It was here on the Cape that I studied navigation. But now I join the Esperanza to leave the Cape and my family behind me, to take this Greenpeace ship onward, and as an Ocean Defender to bring our Oceans together.

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4 February 2006

First things first - part II

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

Among those of us just returned from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, the main topic of conversation is home - when we'll leave for there, the weather where we all come from, how were getting there and what we're looking forward to. So I asked a bunch of my crewmates, "What's the first thing you're going to do when you finally get back home?" Their answers:

Zeger - Put on my wood stove, make some nice food and chill out with the animals - cat and dog. Probably fall asleep.

Mostly looking forward to being able to set my own agenda. No, have a good sleep, that's the first one.

Emily - I'm shopping today for gifts for everyone helping take care of my home.

Have a shower and go to sleep I suppose. Drink cups of my own tea.

Nathan - Pack my dog up in the car, and head out to the Maryland woods to go hiking along Patuxent River.

Naomi - Sleep I guess, and take a walk on the beach where I live.

What I'm not looking forward to is doing my own cooking. However, I am looking forward to not getting up at midnight every night. I don't really mind it when I'm working because you just get in the rhythm of it. But it will be nice to have my evenings back. I do miss socializing.

Colin - Give my girls a big hug, kiss and a cuddle at the airport. My wife and daughter are meeting me. I've been home one month in the last six. The dog'll bite me and the cat'll scratch me, they'll be thinking, "who are you?"

Alain - I am going travelling, will enjoy a good bottle of wine with friends. And sleeping.

Mannes - I'm going to sit next to my girlfriend in front of a big fire in my fireplace.

Nico - I am going back home earlier then I have told everyone. Only my sister knows. She will pick me up at the airport and we go surprise my parents.

Jari - Unpacking is the first thing I will do when I get home. Then the next day I go to work for a production company.

Mathijs - Get eaten by my dog. It weighs 65 kilos and always wants to be the first to say hello.

Texas - Going to Germany, then for one month in Mallorca, before jointing the Sunrise again for the Amazon. Not going home at all. It's February in Canada and I have no intention of being in Canada in February.

Shane - Going to Australia first to work in the office and visit my family. It will be a few weeks until I get back to my own home in Amsterdam.

Nienke - I think I will love to go for a walk in Amsterdam, just a walk around the canals.

Isha - Kiss my sister's pregnant belly. Because she's going to have a baby and I'm going to be an aunty!

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How I see it

by Philster, onboard the Esperanza

Some parts of this expedition you try to push to the back of your mind. The storms and the sleepless nights. The feelings that you experience when, despite every effort, you hear the loud bang, see the puff of smoke and the explosion of blood in the water. The feeling of helplessness, the knot in your stomach. The deadly silence as we watched to see if they had killed the whale or not. The harpoon line pulled taut as the Antarctic Minke Whale is stopped mid-stroke of its tail and the mammal realises something is terribly wrong.

Something is terribly wrong. Genetic analyses have shown that Antarctic and common Minke Whales differ significantly in many ways, and have been separated for millions of years. Yet this whale was only recently assigned separate species status. And even more recently assigned to die in the name of "research". Two separate sources of information point out that more than 100,000 Minkes were killed in the last century in the Southern Hemisphere, most of which were Antarctic Minkes. Japan continues to kill many hundred per year. In fact, since they began "scientific whaling" 10,000 miles away from Japan, more than 6,800 Antarctic Minke Whales have been killed in this "scientific" slaughter.

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3 February 2006

Frantic pace

by Andrew, onboard the Esperanza

Although stationary, work on both ships continues at a high speed. We've got two entirely fresh crews arriving eager to get down to business. And at the same time, two crews about to depart, eager to finish all their projects and leave the ships in the best possible condition for the next folks on board.

We've did some tough sea time over the past months and it shows on the ships. One small example is the Sat-A dish on the Arctic Sunrise. The satellite dishes are in the one-meter wide mushroom looking things (aka satellite domes). A satellite dish looks more like a giant wok than a dish. It's shaped that way to focus the relatively weak satellite signal onto a small antenna.

On a ship the tricky bit is keeping the satellite dish pointed right at the satellite - even when the ship is turning in circles or bouncing around in rough weather. The dish is mounted so that it can rotate in a circle as well as pointing up or down or in between. It's kept steady in all but the worst weather by a very clever bit of applied physics called dual flywheel gyroscopes.

The Sat-A is an older generation of technology, pre-digital, and the one on the Sunrise had been in service for well over a decade. Sometime during the past expedition one of its heavy flywheels broke free and went crashing around the inside of the satellite dome spinning at approximately 700 revolutions per minute. The dome and dish are fine, as well as most of the dish aiming equipment, but considering the age of the thing, and availability of improved technology, the decision was made to replace it.

They craned the dome off, and Neil crawled into this portable sauna to dismantle it from the inside. I happened by just in time to help with the last bolt. We'll save the bits that we can use as spare parts, and put a new, digital F-77 Satcom instillation in to replace the Sat-A. Like most important equipment we have multiple back ups including another satellite telephone and shortwave radios.

Where the ship is headed next is not as remote as Antarctica, but still plenty remote enough to make our satellite communications vital.

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First things first - Part o