This is just the beginning | Home | First things first - Part one

1. Where is Arctic Sunrise?
2. Webcam is good... but I never see anyone on the bow. It is 4:15 EST, 10:15 GMT. What rime is it there? And at 4:15 EST, 10:15 GMT tomorrow Friday here, could someone stand on the bow? and wave or something? Welcome to dry/solid/steady land.

I am wondering what is going to happen to your anti-whaling campaign? Aren't you planning to take it to the supermarkets?
You have done a wonderful job at the Southern Ocean Sanctury. It is great to finally have someone agree with me about whaling and how terrible it is!! Thank you so much for campaigning against Japan whaling. =D

I made error in calculating time. At 4:15 PM (16:15) EST it is actually 11:15 PM (23:15) in Cape Town. A bit darker than I thought... but I will watch webcam at that time anyway.

You guys did a great job against the japanese whaling fleet.
I must say in my humble opinion... i think seashepherd did a better job. Isn't it pointless watching whales being killed "illegally" and only document them but not get "involved" directly to stop it.
I think startegically it's good that greenpeace stays away from direct contact... Sometimes it's better to fight the war in the right forum and not on the field.
Still i'm glad SeaShepherd exists and doind such a splendid job being a smaller organisation with a limited following compared to greenpeace.
I wish both societies the best...afterall all of us are fighting for the same cause.
I'm sure SeaShepherd will grow from strength to strength in the coming years...there are people who beleive in them and their tactics and their sheer determination to fight the bad guys with all means possible. Hats off to them!

Ranil - Thanks for your support. You are right about two things: that we are all working towards the same goal (ending commercial whaling), and that not everyone agrees on the best way to get there.

A couple things I would like to point out though. One is that we did a lot more than simply bare witness to the whale hunt. Day after day, we put our boats and ourselves in a position to block the harpooner's shot. We also used an obscuring spray of water to keep the hunters from even seeing their prey. These are just two of the several tactics we employed to save individual whales. For more info, I suggest reading a few of the action updates - like this one, this one and this one to get an idea of what we were doing.

I also think you underestimate the value of baring witness, and bringing the brutal reality of this hunt to the world. It is actually the power of everyday shoppers and voters that will finally end commercial whaling for good - no matter how many individual whales we might save in one season. Hopefully you are already an Ocean Defender, but you can also find a ton more ways to help on our Take Action page.

And finally, you also rightly point out that the Greenpeace expedition was well equipped and resourced. This is this is no accident, and it is not thanks to corporate or government money - as Greenpeace does not accept funding from these sources. It is thanks to the millions of individuals around the world who trust us with their hard earned cash. It is because of them that, for the first time ever, a protest ship was able to keep up with the whaling fleet - both to take peaceful direct action, and to document the hunt. Many thanks from all on board.

I think the work you guys are doing is amazing.

While you are in Cape Town is anyone making any headway opening up a Greenpeace office here? I know the Greenshoots initiative was being thought through the beginning of last year but I'm not seeing anything actually popping up.

There are so many people in S.A. willing to do so much, and there are things that need to be addressed (ie RIGHT NOW in Cape Town the nuclear reactorS are out again - the govt. response to the power problem is more nuclear power - are they actually considering other alternatives? And wouldn't a Greenpeace office here help in exerting pressure for these changes and bring a general awareness of issues like this?)

All the best to all of you!