Sea Shepherd crew harasses a whaling ship. Photo: S4CGlobal.org
Our vessels, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, are making the arduous trip out of the Southern Ocean, headed through rough seas for a town wholly inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary: Hobart, Tasmania.
Last night, we sailed under an incredible display of the Aurora Australis – the Southern lights. They appeared in front of us as comet-like descending trails, forming into huge vertical shafts of light that created undulating, yellowish curtains of pale luminosity across the sky. It may sound far-fetched, but is was as if we breathed in the very essence of the universe, and that we were being reminded that we are all blessed to be in this flux of pure energy, light, and life itself.
On December second of last year, Australian senator Bob Brown saw us off on our voyage into the Southern Ocean: a mission dedicated to fighting against the slaughter of whales by the Japanese. From the outset of our passage into Antarctica, we sailed with the utmost confidence. Now, after four months, Senator Brown is welcoming us back with a party. After all the action and non-stop work, we are looking forward to unwinding from what has been an incredibly successful campaign against a Japanese whaling fleet. Our tentative plan is to take the Steve Irwin up to Sydney and give her a long term berth, perhaps at Darling Harbor, where the public can visit our fine black ship. Since the Whale Wars documentaries, the public is always keen to see the ship. After the Blue Rage campaign, a fight against endangered blue fin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, interest in our vessel skyrocketed.
When we arrived in lower Antarctic waters (which are well within the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary), Sea Shepherd’s three ship flotilla–the Bob Barker, the Steve Irwin, and the Gojira–engaged directly with a Japanese whaling fleet. On New Year’s Day, our entire fleet hounded two harpoon ships, with the Steve Irwin, captained by Paul Watson, swinging around to chase the Yushin Maru 2 through pack ice. It was a chilling sight to see Minkes and Fins gamboling near our ship, with harpoon ships just three miles behind. We ultimately kept two of the killer boats out of action, with Gojira and Bob Barker on the Nisshin Maru’s stern, and the Delta and Zeppelin attacking with butter bombs, an organic, biodegradable substance that is less acidic than vinegar. Butter bombs, chosen for their non-polluting nature, don’t harm human beings or marine life.
The Bob Barker crew chased the factory ship Nisshin Maru all the way to Chile’s Drake Passage. Chile dispatched two warships with instructions to board the whaling ship if it entered their waters. The Gojira eventually sailed for Tahiti on her way to campaigns in Europe.
Although the Japanese tallied an estimated 170 whales before they suddenly pulled out of Antarctic waters, that number is much lower than usual. Of course, it was shocking to hear of those deaths, but our resolve to stop the killing of even one whale never wavered.
This campaign united good friends from around the world; we’re all even stronger for our shared experiences. Many of us have sailed together at different times in the past.
We are fabulous crew, working together on three ships. There are eighty-eight of us in all, spanning twenty-two nations. We have laughed together and cried together. We have worked to exhaustion together. We have eaten wonderful vegan food and jammed in the lounge, played cricket on the foredeck, and poker in the mess. We have been through wild, rolling seas, fogs, and freezing snowstorms. We have celebrated birthdays in great friendship, and learned about one another in our struggle towards the collective goal.
This campaign has affirmed that direct action by dedicated passionate people on behalf of the animal kingdom and biodiversity can triumph over apathy and greed. We can make better outcomes for the future on this beautiful planet. It was an historic victory for the whales. The sudden departure of the Japanese whaling fleet, essentially an expulsion by Neptune’s Navy, validates the unwavering vision and courage of Captain Paul Watson for taking direct action to protect whales and their oceanic world. Paul Watson has set a great precedent in standing strong by his principles and implementing a blueprint for future generations to safeguard the natural world that not only sustains us and gives true meaning and inspiration to our lives, but also upholds the right of all sentient beings to freedom and respect.
So now we are thinking about doing laundry, finding those lost socks, making some sense of our tossed salad cabins, and getting ashore to meet up with our crews and friends to unwind and pinch ourselves in what has been an experience of a lifetime.
It is a great honor to serve in Neptune’s Navy, and once again, this is a call out to the surfing, sailing, and diving communities to support the Sea Shepherd’s endeavors. If they can organize themselves into becoming powerful voices, they can be directly active in the protection of our precious ocean and her inhabitants. Us saltwater slaves should transform into masters of marine management, and stand firm with our global collective power to see the ocean and her residents safeguarded.
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