-- update --

First day

My first day on the Rainbow Warrior was nice. It is a new experience to sail with Greenpeace, and other friends from Indonesia. Many new friends, many new stories to hear and much new information, but I never know where the boat will go. My friend said, "We will go follow the wind".

I hope while sailing I can have many new experiences – learn how to sail, how to campaign internationally, and how to cook. There's delicious food on this boat.

And I hope with this journey, everyone in the world will know that the Indonesian forest is in big trouble. I hope everyone will hear how the Indonesian forest is being stolen by other countries. I hope I can do something to save the remaining Indonesia tropical forest - that I can help Indonesian peoples to have their own forest and their right to their own livelihood.

-- Ade

Departure Jakarta

Lots of friendly waves from people as we left port today. I think that's a good sign. We left Jakarta this morning, but not alone. While in port we learned a lot from our many new friends, spoke with school groups, showed folks around the ship and met with high-ranking government officials. Our next job is to visit areas of environmental concern in the area. For this we have a few new faces on board - including some journalists and local environmental activists from WALHI and Forest Watch (more about them another time).

-- Andrew

Safety on board

Part of being on the Rainbow Warrior is the frequent safety drills, and we did one today. The general alarm went of at 16:00 (4:00pm), and everyone mustered up nice and quick.

We do these sorts of drills all the time, but where we are working and what we are doing carries risk above and beyond anything we normally do. Whatever happens, we do our best to be ready.

The new folks on the ship got a safety tour. They tried on survival suits and life jackets, they learned where we keep the fire extinguishers, and they were told over and over to smoke only in the designated safe areas only. Serious stuff, but I think they had fun.

And the BA (breathing apparatus) team suited up – as if they had to search a burning ship for a missing crewmember, or drag hose to a fire location. The rest of us ran out fire hoses on the main deck, and practiced spraying water. If there were a real fire - too serious for just an extinguisher - the BA team would probably go in with a hose, supported by a hose handling team outside. Another hose team might do boundary cooling to help contain the fire's heat.

Hopefully it will never come to that, but if it does, training and practice is the key.

-- Andrew

School visit

Yesterday we were invited to meet the members of a nature club at the University of Indonesia. The club, which is run by students, organizes nature adventures like caving and hang gliding. These students have first-hand experience of the forests, oceans, and mountains of Indonesia, so we were excited to have the chance to hear their thoughts about the environmental problems in their country.

It was interesting to see the similarities between the students and Sep and Isha. Like Sep, the students are being confronted with corruption and greed that is tearing apart their country. And like Isha, all of these students are young and eager to start doing something about the problems they face.

Meeting these future doctors, lawyers, and scientists gave me hope for Indonesia. The members of this club have grown up with an appreciation of the natural beauty of Indonesia, and that won't be easily stolen from them. Let's just hope that this new generation gets it's chance soon enough.

-- Derek

Working hard in a sauna

Ever heard of that? Well, stuff on the ship is likely unheard of elsewhere, for me at least. And since today the clouds took charge of the skies the humble deckhands were forced indoors – into unairconditioned compartments forward of accommodation, or what we are calling "the sauna"! These are areas beneath the bow and main deck of the ship that are the storage area for our working gear, the laundry, our bicycles, banners, etc.

The big compartment, in more practical terms, is also called the hold – though in this climate "the sauna" seems most appropriate. No windows and little ventilation...loads of perspiration! We were there mostly after lunch doing cleaning up work and sorting out work. Our dearest Italian deckhand, Caterina, somehow managed to entangle herself into a tedious assignment...rolling some new rope onto the roller. What's so hard about that, eh? You all must be wondering. Well, a lot if it's about 30 meters all whirled up into each other!

I was off sorting out our paint locker and cleaning up dirty paintbrushes with the others. When I arrived in the sauna, poor Cat had shed five litters of sweat and wasn't looking in top form so we decided to team up and see if four hands and two brains could beat the knots into a straight line. Of course our ever so funny nutty boson, Phil, kept us going even when we wanted to give up. He dished out the laughs while Faye did what she does best – worked the beats.

I think we must have been at the untangling business for three hours or so and didn't think we were going to make it, but has the day came in to closing, the knots opened up and freed us! We were dripping, but smiling...we were red cheeked and victorious!

Thank you god for teamwork, and thank you, whoever, for a fabulous team!

-- Isha

Just a little off the top, leave the ears

Sunday is our day off so today we were at our leisure. A bit of a sleep in, a little shopping, maybe a movie – that sort of thing. Ronnie (the cook) spent hours cleaning the ship's walk in freezer, but I guess he's got his own ideas about the whole "day off" concept.

My main project for the day was a haircut. For this, I enlisted RP, who is the ship's barber (although I've also seen him fixing boats between haircuts). Haircuts with RP are a pretty uncomplicated affair. Just tell him what number (four is longest, zero is very very short), have a seat and a few minutes later you're done. Very efficient.

Here's a pic of Faye getting a "number four" length trim.

-- Andrew

Opposition leader

Today it was Amien Rais, Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament, who visited the ship. Sitting down in the mess to talk to us, he made some very strong statements underscoring the seriousness of illegal logging in Indonesia. One quote:

"We have evidence that the illegal logging that took place in 2001 and 2002 was equal to the cumulative illegal logging of the eleven years previously. Meaning that there is a multiplication of the destruction of our ecology."

Pretty strong stuff, but check out this next quote and remember that this is one of the most prominent politicians in the country - someone who was instrumental in Indonesia's transition to democracy and this year is a candidate for President:

"As a citizen of this country, as an Indonesian son who was born and grew up here, educated here, I have a kind of impression that external pressure sometimes makes more sense. I think my government listens more to external pressures than domestic pressures."

Wow. Yesterday, we had the Minister of Environment on board (a member of the ruling party). Today, we met with the Speaker of the Parliament (and leader of an opposition party). Both spoke out very strongly – the Speaker even calling for a selective logging moratorium.

It's amazing to hear such prominent politicians speaking so urgently about an environmental problem, and so plainly calling for international assistance.

-- Andrew

Working on board the Rainbow Warrior

The one complaint the Forestry Minister had with us was that there are no Indonesian crewmembers on board the Rainbow Warrior. He pointed out that there are many able sailors and committed environmental activists in Indonesia.

Probably it is just that not many people from here have ever applied with Greenpeace. To remedy that situation, any Indonesian reading this is invited to click here to apply for work on a Greenpeace ship.

Our crew members come from all over the world - we have eleven different nationalities on board right now. Greenpeace considers applications from all nationalities, races, genders, religions and cultural backgrounds equally.

Anyone can apply, and there are no special qualifications to be a volunteer deckhand - although some sailing experience is preferred and a proven commitment to the environment is important. There is a lot of competition to work on the ships. I've heard that for every volunteer position there are over a hundred applicants.

And if you have your professional certifications, especially as a mate or an engineer, then you should definitely apply - since we often have openings for people with the right training and experience.

Minister of Environment

Indonesia's Environment Minister and his wife came on board the Rainbow Warrior followed by a crowd of reporters and security. He made some very strong, shocking really, statements about the situation with their forests. The minister made it very clear that illegal logging has created such an urgent crisis that unless radical action is taken soon, there's not going to be much left here to save.

At one point he said, "We have enough laws, it is a problem of implementation." Corruption is so rampant here it is very hard for them to fight the wealthy timber barons.

The minister also called Greenpeace and other environmentalists, "trusted allies", in the struggle to save the forests. He openly called for any help saying, "We must attack from both the supply side and the demand side." This is clearly an international problem because it's the money spent by wood buying nations that is driving the destruction here.

I hope my government back home is listening to all this. We really need to support these activists and officials who are trying to do the right thing. Here they are, putting their lives on the line, and back home my government has a landmark case against Greenpeace for a protest against illegal timber.

Friendly visitors

I'm really finding Indonesians friendly and cheerful. The one's I've met have a great spirit. Today's open boat was invitation only because we aren't quite ready for the large crowds that would come if we invited the general public (but it's something we want to do before we leave the area).

WALHI had a big, "Welcome Greenpeace" banner and there were dozens of local volunteers showing people around the ship. The volunteers were great - very positive and cheerful. Afterwards they were all clowning around on the deck, and taking pictures of each other.

Looking sharp

It was a major problem. Greenpeace International organized a reception last night for Jakarta dignitaries - embassy staff, government officials, representatives from other non-profit groups, generally VIP types. It was really important for us to make a positive impression.

Anyway, the problem was the crew. Our usual casual attire wasn't going to cut it for this upscale do. Most of us don't plan for fancy dress parties when packing for our trip on the ship. Our logistics team solved the problem by buying everyone batik shirts, which are colorful, native to Indonesia and considered acceptable formal wear in this part of the world.

Never have you seen such a swank looking Rainbow Warrior crew. From the hallway you'd hear, "Whoa, look at that shirt!" and "Looking sharp there!" I think the VIPs were pretty well impressed too. I had some good conversations. There are a lot of people here in Indonesia already tackling issues like climate change, degradation of the oceans and unsustainable logging. Folks also seem to like the idea of Greenpeace getting more involved in Indonesia. I think there's a definite role for us to play here.

To make it happen

Wednesday started very hot and sticky! We were expecting a few media people for the press conference and there was all 43 of them. The boat was looking a little battle scared so we touched up the paintwork on the side after scrubbing her down. The rainbow on the bow got a fresh coat of paint also, and by 1 o'clock we were looking fantastic. The spruce up also saw us putting everything back in its place, the inflatables in the water, tables and display boards on the dock, running power for the sound system, cleaning the inside of the ship, polishing the binnicle and the wheel from the first Warrior, taking on stores, and all the other little things that are required in the running of a ship this size. I reheated my lunch at 1.15 then we were straight back into it. The deck crew was fantastic and it made me proud to be part of six different nationalities together working as a team. Certainly it was a huge day!

-- Phil (bosun)

The press conference

The last of the journalists are still touring the ship. At two o'clock today we held a very well attended press conference on the dock. From Greenpeace, Stephen, our campaigner, spoke along with Derek (the captain). They were joined by Longgena Ginting, Executive Director of WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) and Hapsoro, the Director of Telapak. The banner on the table read, "Environment rights ARE human rights".

Stephen told the forty journalists attending how glad we are to be visiting Jakarta. Greenpeace has offices in Bangkok plus a campaign presence in the Philippines, but we're new to Indonesia. In fact, this is the first time the Rainbow Warrior has ever visited the country.

The official purpose of the press conference was to launch our CBD, COP7 push. For those of you that don't speak acronym this is short for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 7th Conference of the Parties, which is a major international forum Greenpeace hopes to use it to get additional protection for the oceans and forests. Because "CBD" isn't very snappy or properly descriptive, we're calling this year's conference, "The Summit for Life on Earth".

In 2002 Greenpeace successfully branded the CBD (COP6) as the, "Ancient Forest Summit", to focus world attention on the crisis facing the ancient forests (eighty percent of which are already gone). This year we want to also put the spotlight on the oceans, which are suffering from massive over fishing, toxic pollution and climate change.

The Telapak and WALHI directors welcomed Greenpeace to their country, and spoke about the environmental challenges facing Indonesia. Longgena Ginting (WALHI) emphasized the need to take make local communities and indigenous peoples a part of conservation solutions. Hapsoro focused on the illegal logging that is ravaging Indonesia's forests and even their national parks.

Captain's Birthday

We had an additional reason to celebrate yesterday. On the evening of the reception on board, it was also the Captain's birthday. As the speeches of the dignitaries finished we sang a round of Happy Birthday with all the invited guests and presented the Captain with a cake. The Captain said that because of the warm response of the crows "he would always remember his 25th birthday"!?

-- Stephen

12 to 4

Last night I was on the 12 to 4 watch. I had help though, in the form of some hired local security. They were friendly and curious about what Greenpeace is doing in the country. One of them, a Jakarta native, told me this part of the city, "is like the Bronx" - by which I think he meant it's a dangerous part of town. On the whole though, I hear Jakarta is a very safe city, and I'm guessing that even this part of town is safe enough to walk around.

Scrub Scrub

Gave the toilets an extra thorough scrubbing this morning since we've got a lot of VIPs and media visiting today. Yep, that's right, international environmental activism is every bit as prestigious as you imagine.

Seriously, Greenpeace has never had a real presence here, it's the first time the Rainbow Warrior has ever even visited, and I think we all know about the importance of first impressions.