Alice, open boat and volunteer coordinator
Florinopolis, Brazil

I was born in Sao Paulo but now I live in Florianopolis in the south of Brazil, where I own a store that sells organics and whole food products. I've worked as a volunteer for Greenpeace since the Greenpeace office in Brazil was established in 1992. I participated on the first action for the nuclear campaign to protest against the construction of a nuclear power plant. There were many others actions and public demonstrations and I always learned something from them.

It's wonderful to be here for a second time. I love sailing, watching the wilderness and most of all being in contact with the local people hoping that we can make a difference. I also found in the Amazon the love of my life and because of this, of course, it has a special meaning for me.

Bent, chief engineer
Germany

Bent worked on commercial ships for seven years. He took a three-year break to study engineering, then worked for five years for Waertsilae as a service engineer. He has a friend who has worked for Greenpeace since 1987, and Bent heard so much about Greenpeace from his friend that he decided to switch over to Greenpeace to help the environment.

Craig, deckhand
New Zealand

The last time I wrote, I was being held captive by the Latino Mafia, but guess what? They're back!! I have been hiding in the lower hold for over four months, sneaking out after midnight when everybody was in bed asleep to steal food and water, and get back to my hiding place.

But three weeks ago the Mafia came back and they found where I was hiding, so big trouble!!But to my surprise, they decided to be nice to me and make me a "deckhead" or something like that.

So now I get to sleep out on the cold hard deck again and also I don't have to steal food after midnight anymore because they bring me out a slice of bread and some cheese every two days as well as some water, so I am happy again now even though I have to work 23.5 hours a day again. Anyway I have to go and pull up the anchor by hand by myself. Are you ready for the truth??

Dave, logistics coordinator
Melrose, Scotland

Dave moved to the Amazon in July to work for the Greenpeace office in Manaus as the logistics coordinator. Originally from Melrose, Scotland, Dave says he's been working for Greenpeace for way too long.

His first action was against nuclear submarines in 1993, since then he has worked in the UK office, on ships as crew, as a boat driving trainer, diving in the Mediterranean and Scotland and has been on the MV Greenpeace twice when the hull was breached. Dave already spent three months in the Amazon last year with the Amazon Guardian tour and is not sure how long he will live here, perhaps a few years. He says the most interesting biodiversity he has come across so far in the Amazon is the nightlife in Manaus.

Eddy, boson
Scotland

Flavio, deckhand
Florinopolis, Brazil

Lawrence 'Butch', RN Nurse/deckhand
Missoula, Montana, US, 44 years old.

I was first arrested in 1976 at the gates of Montana's Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB), home of 200 nuclear missiles.

I was most recently arrested in Greenland in August after a two day hike to the US Thule AFB, a proposed Star Wars radar site. I've been a nurse for 12 years and am also a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician. I've worked for Greenpeace for two and a half years, both on the ships and as a Stop Star Wars campaigner. I also work with the Ruckus Society as a nurse and trainer in nonviolent direct action.

Lucha, deckhand
Buenos Aries, Argentina

My name is Luciana, I'm from Argentina and I live in Buenos Aires. I'm 25 years old, and I've been working for Greenpeace for 5 years now. Now I'm onboard the Arctic Sunrise and this is my fifth trip on a Greenpeace ship, and my second time in the Amazon.

I joined Greenpeace because I saw that lots of things are going wrong in the world, the planet is being damaged and contaminated in a terrible way, and I felt the necessity to do something. When I am in Buenos Aires I live with my family and I study veterinary science. I am also a volunteer in the Greenpeace Argentina action team.

Luicana (with Falvio), deckhand
Porto Alegre, Brazil

Hi, I'm Luciana, a 29 year-old deckhand volunteer from Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil.

I've been working as a volunteer since 1999. In my hometown we have a local Greenpeace volunteer group with about 40 volunteers and I am one of the coordinators. I am in charge of many things, such as the organisation of outside events, the direct contact with the public and members, the selection of new volunteers and I also give Greenpeace lectures in schools and universities about the organisation and current campaigns.

This is my second time here in the Amazon. I participated in the Amazon Guardian Tour last year. Since then I knew I wanted to come back. I arrived one month before the ship because I wanted to hell as much as I could in the preperation of the campaign and the Deni self-demarcation project. I hope at the end of the campaign, we will have achieved solid steps towards the preservation of this amazing region rich in biodiversity. Let's help to keep the Amazon alive! Bon't buy illegal wood from the Amazon.

Jim, cook
Montana, US

I am the cook aboard MVAS. I'm from a small town in north eastern Ohio, called Madison. I've spent the last ten years living in Montana while working several times in Alaska. While I've been lucky to see some pristine wilderness areas, I've also seen people living in absolutely terrible pollution. So I guess its the combination of views that brought me to work for Greenpeace.

Menno, 2nd engineer
The Netherlands

Last year I was also part of the campaign here in the Amazon. Really happy to be part of it again. It is impressive to see this area. Last year we were here in the wet season and now in the dry. There is a huge
difference in the water level compared to the period we were here last year. About six to seven meters difference. Nice to see...

From a engineering point of view it is not always nice to be with a ship in this area. The temperature in the engine room reaches easily over 40 degrees. But if you look around the ship when you are out of the engine room you easily forget the temperature "down below". Further, I hope that this campaign will have a positive effect in saving the Amazon!

Miguel, 3rd engineer
Chile

I born in the city of Valparaiso, Chile on March 18, 1971. I am the 3rd engineer onboard. I may not have been a member of Greenpeace for very long compared to others onboard. However I have always cared for the environment and the planet.

I feel wonderfully happy to be working and dedicating all my time to helping Greenpeace achieve its goals. The truth is that in a professional and personal way, I have met wonderful, and infinitely special people, who make you feel frequently that there is a correct goal, fighting day to day for an ideal and a dream which we hold in common.

The Earth needs us as much as we need it, that is my main motivation to continue, to do these things for my home, the Earth, to make it a better place, for my and other happiness. Every day I thank God to give me the opportunity to be in this privileged place, surrounded by people, who every day, each dawn, feel the immense happiness like I, to see the sun, to feel the sea, and to take refuge every night under stars.

Noel, 2nd Mate
Belem, Brazil

I live in Belem, Brazil. I was born on a small jungle island called "Ilha das Onças" (Jaguar Island). In Belem I completed my studies to become a merchant marine officer. For ten years I've traveled the world, experiencing the great variety among people. Now working with Greenpeace gives me the opportunity to do something for the environment. In my free time, I read, learn and practice new languages and play lots of table tennis.

Penny (with Waldemar), out board mechanic
Worcester, England

Penny is an out board mechanic which brought some laughs and pointing from the men in Manaus, but she will talk non-stop about boats and engines if you let her. This is her first trip on a Greenpeace ship as a mechanic, but she trained with Greenpeace for the past nine moths tinkering on engines for Greenpeace and a commercial shop in Amsterdam.

Penny is from Worcester, England and has traveled throughout the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the South Pacific mainly on commercial yachts as a deckie and since January on Greenpeace ships. But before she became a sailor, she got her masters in marine environmental sciences and lived in northern Scotland where she started an environmental organisation and worked with the local community on environmental issues.

Pete, captain
UK

Captain (off and on) with Greenpeace since 1978, and the first trip of the Rainbow Warrior which was our first ship in Europe and was sunk by the French Government in 1985 in Auckland harbour in New Zealand. I have been involved with many Greenpeace campaigns with most of the ships, and see it as a way of using my professional qualifications to some good for the environment. I hope that my children will inherit a better world, and one in which we have learned to live in harmony with nature and with each other.

Rosana, deckhand
Florianopolis, Brazil

I was born in Itu, Sao Paulo State, but now I live in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina in the south of Brazil. I study geography at the Federal University of Santa Cararina (UFSC) and my main unterest is environmental issues.

Sandra, 3rd mate
Mallorca, Spain

From Mallorca, Spain in the Mediterranean, but I was born in Barcelona. We moved when I was young because the city was too stressful. I've been working on ships since I was 17 years old, mostly on sailing ships. Now I have my own very small sail boat (4.70) and I want to sail around Mallorca. I work for Greenpeace because somebody has to do it and I enjoy it.

Iracema, cook
Manaus, Brazil

Tracy, web editor
Nova Scotia, Canada

I grew up in a tiny community of a couple hundred people on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Now I usually spend my days in an office on the sixth floor with one of the best views of central Amsterdam working on the Greenpeace International web site for the forests and oceans campaigns. This is also my first time working on a Greenpeace ship and a welcome change to come to the Amazon and get up close to one of the ancient forests I always write about.

Waldemar, 1st mate
Corrientes, Argentina

From Corrientes, a city alongside the Paraná river in the north east of Argentina. I was a Naval Officer of the Argentine Navy, then a Merchant Marine Deck Officer. In 2000, I got my first trip on the Arctic Sunrise to go to the Arctic and since then I have participated in campaigns on the west coast of the US and Canada, North sea, Baltic sea, Caribbean sea, Gulf of Mexico, Mississppi river and others. I joined Greenpeace because I was tired of being a spectator of pollution everywhere. The big challenge is to preserve our planet for future generations.