 | George Second Mate Australia |
After a long career in commercial shipping, in April 200I I was lecturing at the Australian Maritime College when one of my students suggested I send in an application to Greenpeace. My phone rang and three days later I was on this ship on my first campaign!!! I have been involved in actions in California, New Zealand, Australia and Greenland.
The campaigns I have worked on range from Genetic Engineering to Star Wars. I'm the only one of my friends back home who has been arrested with people dressed as chickens!!
My job here at the moment is to help navigate the ship and drive the inflatables. This is going to sound corny but the truth is that I'm happier on a Greenpeace ship than I am anywhere else on the planet. This really is my home. There is a great sense of community and when we start on a campaign the atmosphere is so great you feel like there is nothing that you can't achieve.
The worst part about sailing for Greenpeace is when someone leaves. We have some very intense times together. Difficult campaigns, horrible weather etc. and we get to be a real family. Sometimes you feel a great sense of loss when someone goes home and you don't know when you'll meet up again. The bonds are very strong. In the commercial shipping world getting people to go back to sea at the end of their leave is sometimes a major problem. On Greenpeace ships sometimes it's hard to get them to go home!!
