Brigitte Bardot Crew Safe and Sound

This morning Sea Shepherd announced that the crew of the Brigitte Bardot is now safe and sound. They and their vessel are being shepherded (I can use puns if I want to) back to port where they will work feverishly to repair the hull which was damaged by a rogue wave.

Sea Shepherd is going to lose some ground monitoring Japanese whalers with two ships out of commission. However, the good news is that the Bob Barker is in direct pursuit of the whalers they discovered early in their campaign. What’s more, the Bob Barker is Sea Shepherd’s ice-class vessel, meaning they can confidently chase whalers into growler-infested waters if necessary.

Sea Shepherd’s Bob Barker chef William Laurent provides a tour of his galley, talks about his decision to be vegan, and shares some of his creative cooking techniques, all while making some vegan bread.

Life Aboard a Sea Shepherd Vessel: Ship Manager, Andrea Gorden

The Sydney Morning Herald has published an excellent article about what it’s like to be aboard a Sea Shepherd vessel on a campaign. Therein is a video with Bob Barker Ship Manager Andrea Gorden who discusses the forthcoming Operation Divine Wind campaign.

From this article I learned that the Bob Barker houses stickers that read “it takes a pirate to catch a pirate.” So good.

Whale Wars Resumes Tonight

For whatever reason Whale Wars didn’t air last week. But tonight it resumes for the following four weeks, which will conclude the second half of season 4.

Operation No Compromise was highly successful. In seven winters in Antarctica Sea Shepherd had never forced such an abrupt end to a whaling season as during this past campaign.

This isn’t a surprise if you follow/read Sea Shepherd Advocate—or diligently follow Sea Shepherd by other means. However, Whale Wars always surprises me with lots of little details that I didn’t read about during any given campaign.

Take for example episode 4, The Devil’s Icebox (video below). The Bob Barker’s two delta boats were launched on an unprecedented mission whereby they would distract a whaling vessel long enough for the vessels to separate by 20 miles, out of range of the whalers’ radar.

One of the deltas began leaking after a prop-fowler misfire and was forced to stop moving. So both deltas took refuge near an iceberg and called the Bob Barker to initiate a rescue mission. It was at that time the Bob Barker realized they were over five hours from the deltas, infinitely farther than they had planned for.

Having already been in the water for around eight hours, the delta crew members were devastated when they heard the news. Some began to show signs of hypothermia and all were cold/hungry.

This is huge. A giant story that wasn’t given headlines during the campaign, likely because it was simply an internal incident. It didn’t tell a story about clashes in the ocean or people hopping from one ship to another. So Whale Wars gives us some nice insight into things we may not otherwise know, even as avid supporters of Sea Shepherd.

Sea Shepherd Near Major NATO Airstrikes

NATO is bringing the rain in Tripoli today. I hope the Bob Barker crew is doing okay over there. Geez.

This is an excellent mini-documentary about dry-dock maintenance and rehabilitation for the Bob Barker. It was filmed/edited by Sea Shepherd crew members Sam Sielen and Rex Ray, who are obviously professionals. It’s a really nice piece and there may be more to come.

Radio Interview with Alex Cornelissen

This is a very brief but pleasant interview with Alex Cornelissen, captain of the Bob Barker. Even though BBC news refers to his ship as the Bob Baker and the interview is only a couple minutes long, it’s a delightful listen for any Sea Shepherd fan. It’s nice to hear someone from Sea Shepherd speaking because it creates a more personal connection.

Bob Barker Captain Alex Cornelissen Stands Ground

Alex Cornelissen, captain of the Bob Barker, was tested by the captain of the Yushin Maru 3 as to his resolve.

As you may be aware the Bob Barker is currently holding a strong stand at the stern of the Nisshin Maru, impeding their ability to receive murdered whales from harpoon ships. Yesterday the Yushin Maru 3 made a quick, aggressive move towards the Bob Barker consistent with an attempt to offload a harpooned whale.

The Yushin Maru 3 continued forward on route for a collision but Captain Cornelissen stood his ground, keeping a tight blockade on the Nisshin Maru’s slipway. Eventually the Yushin Maru 3 backed down and changed course, revealing the fact that they had no whale to transfer.

It was clearly a test to see if they could muscle the Bob Barker out of their way. And it is clearly a fact that Sea Shepherd is not going to back down. Japanese whalers will have to ram the Bob Barker if they wish to transfer any whales. But Gojira is standing by to help defend the Bob Barker’s position and the Steve Irwin is a couple days from joining them.

Photos: Sea Shepherd

I am going to send an email to UCONN’s quarterback Johnny McEntee, asking him to join Sea Shepherd in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Just imagine butyric acid or pseudo corpse in his hands on the deck of the Steve Irwin or the Bob Barker.

That said, Sea Shepherd is on their way to destroying Japanese whaling this winter. So with all luck, there will be no need for a masterful thrower anytime in the foreseeable future.

Nisshin Maru Found! Again!

About 12 hours ago Gojira once again located the Nisshin Maru! This comes after the Nisshin Maru was discovered by Sea Shepherd and then lost in an ice floe field three days later.

Since that time, things have really heated up. The battle is on! Here’s a rundown of that last 12 hours in Antarctic waters:

1. Gojira began to chase down the Nisshin Maru who’s crew was in the act of skinning a whale. (Fuckers!)
2. The Nisshin Maru attempted to enter an ice field in an attempt to lose Gojira.
3. Gojira captain Locky MacLean radioed the Nisshin Maru, demanding they stop their illegal whaling. The Nisshin Maru was then showered with a stream of butyric acid, pseudo corpse, and other projectiles as Gojira attempted to slow down the vessel until the Bob Barker could arrive from around 28 miles away.
4. Captain MacLean stopped the Gojira near some growlers and ice floes and the Nisshin Maru steered directly towards them. He radioed the Nisshin Maru, warning them to change course to avoid collision. Not until he fired a warning flare when the Nisshin Maru was a mere 40 meters away did it finally change course, missing Gojira by about 20 meters.
5. The Nisshin Maru entered a pack of ice too thick for Gojira who continued to trail the Nisshin Maru from its edges. With its speed advantage, Gojira met the Nisshin Maru on an opposite end of the ice field.
6. After around 7 hours of tailing the Nisshin Maru, the Bob Barker finally arrived at the scene.
7. The Bob Barker is now tailing the Nisshin Maru directly on its stern, consequently blocking any further attempts to transfer dead whales from harpoon ships.

Yesterday the Steve Irwin left New Zealand with a full tank of fuel and fresh supplies for all three vessels. It will take about five days for it to rejoin its Sea Shepherd team. Until that time, crews of the Bob Barker and Gojira will be gluing themselves to the Nisshin Maru. Hell yeah.

Photos: Sea Shepherd