Onboard the M/V Arctic Sunrise

Day Forty - 29 December 1999

"Surprise"

Japan's whaling fleet probably thought they had shaken off the Arctic Sunrise for good. Today they found out they were wrong.

After the whaling fleet gave us the slip earlier this week, we had to make a guess about where they would go next. The whaling fleet has divided the Southern Ocean between 35 and 70 degrees longitude into four 'areas'. The ships move through these areas, along the coast of Antarctica between Australia and India, systematically looking for Minke whales.

Their plans are to kill over 400 of the marine mammels. Greenpeace is determined to do everything possible to ensure that this hunt is called off and that Japan begins adhering to the internationally recognized Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

The Arctic Sunrise headed West into "Area 4." Our captain, Arne, was betting that the whalers were done with "Area 3" and if we stationed the Arctic Sunrise along the border of "Area 4" we could catch them by surprise.

We sent the helicopter to search for the fleet this morning. It can cover more territory than the ship's radar.

Klaas, one of the ship scientists, had been promised a ride in the helicopter as a Christmas present so he went along as an extra pair of eyes and was able to help spot the fleet.

"My first thought when we saw the whalers was 'we have got to get out of here before they see us and the surprise is spoiled'. Apparently the whalers didn't notice the Greenpeace helicopter on horizon and continued their illegal hunt with no idea that Greenpeace was close by preparing for another action.

Soon we had four inflatable boats in the water - two bound for the Kyo-maru, and two bound for the Toshi-maru. Our objective was to prevent, through non-violent tactics, either of these boats from killing a single whale.

Namhee, our translator, was in the Gray Whale. She had brought a sign that, in formal and polite Japanese, told the whalers, "We will never hurt your crew or your ships. Stop whaling." "When they read my sign, some of them smiled. I do not think they are all hostile."

Even though the sea was relatively calm, it was rough going out in the inflatables. For many the inflatable has become something of a Greenpeace trademark. We've been using them since the early 70s because they are fast, maneuverable, and sturdy. This versatility comes at the expense of comfort. A high speed inflatable ride can be incredibly bumpy and bruising experience.

"We spent about 70 percent of the time giving lee for our the small inflatable that was with us," said Zeger, who was in the Gray Whale. By staying in the wake of the Gray Whale the small four-meter inflatable was able to make top speed, but the chase was hard on boat and crew.

"My body's going to feel that in the morning," said Deb, who was driving the smaller inflatable.

The Greenpeace activists have to be careful when around the catcher boats which are at least 10 times ten times the size of our biggest inflatables. The catcher boats, built specifically for hunting whales, move very fast for their size, which can create a suction around their hull as they push through the water. The crew of the seven-meter long Hurricane found out first-hand what can happen if a small boat gets to close.

"We got a bit close to the bow and got sucked in...just knocked the top." said our fourth mate, Curtis, who was driving the Hurricane. "We knocked off [our] small antenna and cracked the radar scanner a little bit."

At the end of the day everyone felt the risks were worth it. We shut down Japan's illegal whaling for more than half the day - a big victory.

Everyone is too busy getting ready for tomorrow to rest on our laurels. We will be back out to shut them down again.

Meanwhile Greenpeace campaigners around the world are working to generate international political pressure on the Japanese government to cancel this hunt and adhere to the provisions of the International Whaling Commission and the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. They'll need your help to be successful so please visit our "Take Action" page to find out how to plug in.