Celeste - Assistant Cook | Home | Hans - ICT Officer

Hi, I'm Maaike.

About ten years ago I joined Greenpeace Netherlands as a volunteer activist. I was studying biology. Basically I joined every action I could. Through the Dutch action team I got on board of the ships as a volunteer deckhand and one thing lead to another. Now I sail as second mate on the Esperanza.

My last trip was in 2005; during this trip we worked in the North Sea on the bycatch campaign, then against deep sea trawling in the northern Atlantic. It's shocking to see how much bycatch goes over the side, from small crabs to dolphins, to creatures from the deep sea I've never seen before.

After that trip I had a break from Greenpeace. I do that once in a while. I sailed as mate on a coaster (small cargo ship) delivering general cargo in north western Europe. I enjoy this kind of work, it gives me the chance to look from a distance at work I do for Greenpeace. Somehow that makes me more motivated on future trips; which is the reason I alternate Greenpeace work with other (non-NGO) work.

After sailing on that coaster I wanted to do another trip on the Esperanza, but a challenging opportunity came up: ships co-ordination for a windmill-park that was being build in the North Sea. A job ashore, but working with ships and renewable energy! I took that change and it became a very interesting summer.

So now I'm back on the Esperanza. It's very good to be back at sea. You only know how much you missed it when you're actually sailing again. After the transit through the Pacific, we've been in Auckland for about two weeks to prepare the ship for Antarctica. I really enjoyed these dynamics, lots of people and lots of work. Very busy time!

This is a trip with a lot of "firsts": first transit, first time crossing the equator (meeting Neptune, before reaching Auckland), first time in Antarctica, also first time whaling campaign, icebergs and live penguins.

So here we are, in a big ocean, looking for the Japanese whaling fleet. The crew is very motivated and determined to find them. Still, it's a challenge of course! I hope that with our actions and demonstrations we can make a difference in the awareness of the people in Japan, make them more conscious of the fact that there government allows whaling in a sanctuary. And of course to have influence on governments world wide, so they won't vote for whaling during the IWC this year.

- Maaike