Greenpeace

The Arctic Sunrise docked in New York City in the early evening on Wednesday. The international crew had a field day taking pictures of the New York skyline, the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty as we made our way to our new home for the weekend, Chelsea Piers.

Chelsea Piers is a large complex full of leisure activities. There is a bowling alley, roller-skating rink, health club and more. We are docked at the end of a 48-person driving range and from our port side we have a view of golf balls soaring at us from 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Our only protection is a net (and the fact that most golfers can't drive the ball that far). But the net has at least one hole in it, because a golf ball came bouncing into the hold yesterday.

Movie buffs will appreciate this isn't the first time a Greenpeace ship has been attacked by golf balls. In the opening scene of Armageddon, Bruce Willis's character is an oil driller, and his rig is being protested by a Greenpeace ship. He obviously isn't pleased about the protest, so he is driving golf balls at the ship, aiming for the activists' heads. Seven years later, the same scenario is being played out, but this time 48 people are using us as target practice. And people said that movie wasn't realistic!

I'm sure this will prove to be a busy weekend. Last night we had over 60 supporters onboard for a reception, and we're hosting another one tonight. Saturday and Sunday we'll have more Open Boats and Monday we begin the transit down to Miami. Meanwhile, crewmembers are frantically trying to trade shifts with each other, hoping to catch a Yankees game, an afternoon at the Met or an evening at the Philharmonic Orchestra. Personally, I'm happy just to walk around the city and take in the sights. After living in Washington, D.C. for three years, skyscrapers have become a novelty.

-Maureen

Everyone has a specific job to do on a ship. The captain commands, the cook cooks, the engineer looks after the engine. Deckhands, in a nutshell, do everything else. Whether it be cleaning, repairing or building, deckhands are the legs upon which a ship stands (in which case they should be called decklegs, eh?).

Here is a taste of the work Alain, Barbara, Eric, PoPaul and Tom do every day under the fearless leadership of the bosun, Kevin.

View a slideshow.

-Maureen

As someone who spends large chunks of time in some of the more remote corners of the world, sleeping in the snow and sharing meals out of an aluminum pot, etiquette is placed near the bottom of my priority list.

While wiping my face on my sleeve may not be such a terrible crime in the Arctic Ocean, (Lonnie doesn't seem to mind) onboard the Arctic Sunrise, decorum, custom and protocol dictate much of daily life. Out of bed by 8 a.m. and sign up for cleaning chores. When the mess is full, eat quickly so someone else can use your seat. Help here, help there. Say please and thank you. Little things, as they say, mean a lot. We are all on this ship together.

But more than just good manners, ship etiquette provides a framework for the entire crew to interact. We are all so different. One of us is from Turkey, another from Germany, still others form Colombia, Canada and France. These small guidelines form a language which help us communicate.

There are more rigorous systems to adhere to as well. Many are designed for the safety of the crew. Fire drills are routine events. Any crewmember on sea watch will always inform the duty mate before making rounds. That way, if the person on rounds does not return, the mate knows something is wrong. These rules apply for other guests, too. Nowhere was this more apparent than during our recent Open Boats.

Interested people were relayed out to the Arctic Sunrise for tours. Of course, the inflatable ride out to the ship was intimidating for some. Welcome aboard folks! You have just passed your first initiation. But through the careful guidance of crew and campaigners each visitor learned the procedures and etiquette required during their short stay. Leaving, I couldn't help but notice their more confident strides.

We are all scared of one thing or another. A different perspective, physical danger, the unknown... small differences in all of us. Recognizing differences and forming a set of guidelines in which to interact is one of the things that makes this ship function. Perhaps this is a lesson for life.

Eric,
Deckhand/Explorer

After two busy weeks in Massachusetts, we are now making our way to Long Island, New York. We tried to make the six Open Boats we held as exciting as possible, so our supporters felt that they'd gotten their money's worth. Then again, the Open Boats were free, so the bar was set pretty low...

All jokes aside, some people drove from all over New England for the chance to see a Greenpeace ship and meet the crew. Many had to wait in line for hours and some days we didn't have the best weather. It meant a lot to us that these supporters we're so committed to the event and we did our best to return the favor.

In Boston and Provincetown visitors simply walked up our gangway from land and the tour began. But for Hyannis, Nantucket and Wood's Hole we had to anchor the ship at sea because our draft (new word #87 I have learned since coming onboard) was too big. So on these days, supporters got to ride a rigid inflatable boat from the dock to the ship. Very few people in the world get the opportunity to actually ride in a Greenpeace RIB, and these supporters enjoyed every minute of it.

What they did NOT enjoy was climbing the three-rung rope ladder from the RIB onto the Arctic Sunrise. Judging by the look of horror on their faces, you would think they saw a ghost, rather than a few feet of rope and some wood. But with a little pep talk and crewmembers helping them up the ladder both from the RIB and the ship, everyone conquered the death-defying feat.

The Magical Mystery Tour

The visitors congregated on the heli deck, and as soon as their hearts stopped racing, the tour began. Usually a deckhand had the honor of leading the group throughout the ship, and their presentation style and knowledge would put any professional tour guide to shame.

Next, the group would go up to the bridge, where the navigational controls are located. The deckhand would give an overview of the equipment and either the captain or one of the mates would be on hand to answer any specific technical questions.

Finally, the group would go down to the hold for a campaign presentation. A short video was shown explaining Project Thin Ice 2005, and then Chris (campaigner) would speak about the proposed wind farm.

After a question and answer period, the tour concluded and it was once again time to climb the ladder down to the RIB. Most supporters easily descended the three rungs that terrified them a mere 45 minutes ago and left the ship with shouts of thanks and waves to the crew.

Read a Cape News article about our Open Boats.

Our opponents (the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound) have called us "outsiders" - which is ironic since we have more members in Massachusetts than they do. I think the turnout for our Open Boats proves just how in touch we are with residents of the Cape and Islands. We were happy to share our home away from home with our supporters and even welcomed those who disagree with us onboard. I would be surprised if Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. extended an invitation to us to join him on the six-acre Kennedy Compound to discuss the wind farm issue any time soon. But if he does, I'm up for a game of tennis or a flick in his motion picture theater.

-Maureen

A friend of my parents works for Greenpeace and was able to get me a position as a volunteer assistant cook onboard the Arctic Sunrise for the month-long tour from Halifax to Miami. I came on the ship knowing little about the organization and expected to be the assistant to a grumpy old Navy cook. But as soon as I arrived onboard, I met Charles (the chef) and everyone was talking about a four-course meal he had made the night before featuring seared scallops and creme bruelee. So right away I was excited about working under him.

The thing that impresses me most about Charles's cooking style is that he refuses to cut corners. If there's bread to be had, he'll get up in the middle of the night to bake it rather than buying loaves at port. When it's time to make soup, there's no store-bought broth to be found. He insists on cooking from scratch with everything he makes, and you can tell how much effort goes into each meal the moment you take your first bite.

I've been on the ship for two weeks now and have learned a lot; not just about French culinary techniques, but also about Greenpeace and the amazing work that they do. And thanks to an unexpected recommendation from Charles, I signed a contract today to extend my tour for another month. So I'll be the assistant cook onboard for the transit from Miami to Cape Town, South Africa. In just two short weeks my life has changed more than I ever would have imagined a month ago.

-Mathew

We're no strangers to protesting, but we're accustomed to being the ones actually doing it. So when we docked off of Hyannis and welcomed supporters onto our Open Boats, it was ironic to see our opposition over the wind farm circling our ship, waving banners and chanting against us. This Twilight Zone-moment lasted about an hour until most of the naysayers left anti-climatically.

During the protest, I resisted the urge to offer advice to the protestors on how to do it better. For starters, the boats never chanted in unison, so they were either hard to hear, or were drowning each other out. Most of their banners were too small to read, or were too complicated with their messaging. However, they did know the most-effective, time-honored, universal protesting technique. The one tactic that will hit your oponents right where it hurts, and bring them to their knees: not the single, but the DOUBLE thumbs down. Ouch.

Our supporters were looking forward to the tour of the ship, but when they realized they got to stand with us during a real-life protest, they were elated. If anything, their commitment to see the wind farm realized was strengthened by the behavior of the opponents.

Check out these photos of the opponents' shenanigans.

-Maureen

More than 300 locals came onboard the Arctic Sunrise for an Open Boat tour Friday. I was stationed at the gangway (what I insist on calling "the plank") allowing people to embark in small groups at a time, and asking others to wait for the next tour to begin. While the visitors waited, they bombarded me with questions about the ship, our history, the proposed wind farm and everything else they could think of. They reminded me of hungry restaurant patrons that were dying to reach their table. By the time they completed their tour, their change in demeanor was dramatic; they left the ship satiated, looking like they had just devoured a big bowl of pasta and they were ready for a nap.

We left Provincetown at 17:00 and set out for Hyannis where we'll host another Open Boat day on Saturday. As we approached the canal that would take us into Hyannis, we were joined by a pilot. A pilot is a person who has detailed knowledge of a port approach or dangerous navigational area and comes onboard a vessel to guide it safely into or out of the port.

Shortly after his arrival, he received a radio communication asking him to call his home base from his telephone rather than the radio. He wondered aloud, "What is this all about?" But all of us could guess what was going on: our activists had gone into action.

Three members of our team were using one of the rigid inflatable boats to project a series of images representing global warming onto the Mirant Canal power plant in Sandwich. For about half an hour, melting glaciers, wind turbines and extreme weather events lit up the side of this dirty power plant. It's basically the same principle as when Gotham City projects the bat signal, but we're doing it on a building rather than into the sky.

After the pilot hung up the phone, he told us that "someone" was projecting images onto the plant and went on to point out where we should be looking to see it. We feigned surprise at the spectacle and suppressed giggles that whoever spoke to him on the phone didn't bother to point out that the people responsible for the projections bore the same name as the side of the ship he was currently on.

The pilot hypothesized to the crew "maybe someone decided to project images of whales onto the plant to welcome you into port." Not a bad idea, we'll keep that in mind for next time.

Read the Cape Cod Times story on the event.

-Maureen

After three full days of training, I had mastered driving our rigid inflatable boats. Nicolette (boat trainee) and I spoke to the captain and first mate of the Arctic Sunrise and suggested that we take over driving the ship as well. I mean, how different could it be? They quickly agreed that we were ready, and began making plans for an early retirement.

At 9:00 on Thursday, we lifted anchor and set out for Provincetown, Massachusetts. Nicolette and I thought it best that Frank join us in the bridge for our first time at the wheel, and he reluctantly obliged. Everything went smoothly, as we knew it would. Despite Frank's repeated protests, Nicolette and I decided to leave the Arctic Sunrise in his hands for one more day, so we could participate in our last day of boat training. Bad idea.

We spent a beautiful, calm morning at sea learning some high-speed maneuvers, and practiced the other exercises from the week like launching and recovering the boats. We took a break for lunch and after we stuffed ourselves with carbohydrates, we prepared to once again board the boats. Our agenda for the afternoon session included loading and unloading passengers between the ship and the boats. We were all pretty comfortable with that drill and kept any water coming into the boats at a minimum. So it seemed odd when the first mate suggested we put on rain gear before boarding the RIBs, since there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A murmur rippled through the crowd of the more experienced participants and the only discernible words were "fire hoses."

Ouch

Sure enough, as the first driver approached to unload the rest of the crew from the RIB to the Arctic Sunrise, the first mate radioed the captain and said, "You may now push the button."

"The button," as it turned out, made water spray directly into our boat at an incredible force (six bars, for those of you who know what that means). The crew was simulating the conditions our activists commonly face when boarding and disembarking a hostile vessel. The water comes at you from every direction and it knocks you around like you are going through the spin cycle of a washing machine. Visibility is next to nothing and it's hard to communicate over the sound of the gushing water. The crew was acting out their role as environmental foe by spraying us with the hoses, but I don't think they were faking the sparkle in their eyes or the ear-to-ear grins we noticed as they did it.

I don't know how we managed to complete the exercise and depart in one piece. It was physically one of the greatest challenges I have ever experienced. I've seen classic Greenpeace images of activists being sprayed by hoses and I've always thought "cool!" Now that I know what it actually feels like, I have an entirely different level of respect for them.

I wish I had some pictures to show you from this afternoon, but I know that a camera would never have survived the "attack." In fact, a pair of sunglasses didn't make it out. They are lost at sea forever.

It was a great exercise to end the training. I learned a lot about boats this week and would like to thank all the instructors and advanced trainees for their patience with me. We arrived in Provincetown at 16:00 and here we will say goodbye to the activists and welcome back onboard Chris (campaigner) and Eric (deckhand/explorer). They have spent the week in Cape Cod, laying the groundwork for our campaign activities surrounding the proposed wind farm. Personally, I think they were tipped off about the fire hoses and jumped ship the first chance they got.

-Maureen

My second day of boat training was much more intense than the first. The water was very choppy, the sky was overcast and it lightly rained at times. You would think that even my pale, Irish skin wouldn't get sunburned on a day like today. You would think that, but you would be wrong.

I believe I succeeded at not embarrassing myself too much when I got behind the wheel of the rigid inflatable boat. We learned how to make sharp 90 and 180-degree turns, pace alongside other boats and rescue a man overboard. I pointed out that calling the drill "man" overboard was politically incorrect and suggested renaming the exercise "person" overboard. But Angie (boat trainee) astutely pointed out that "women don't fall overboard."

We wrapped up the day with a lesson in navigation. If you need help while at sea, saying "I'm somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean" just isn't going to cut it. Things like maps, a compass and a global positioning system (GPS) come in pretty handy.

Tomorrow, we'll put our new skills to the test. We'll ride out to a point at sea and try to make our way back to the ship. So if this is the last blog you ever see from me, it probably means there was an error in our calculations.

-Maureen

"How can we break the f**king law, when there is no f**king law", the captain of the trawler called Murtosa screamed at us as we sat on the fishing net onboard his ship.

That is exactly our point. As slim as our chances are that we'll be able to protect ocean life under existing regulatory agreements and management regimes, these chances rapidly approach zero when modern day pirates are allowed to exploit loopholes.

Greenpeace has been confronting pirate fishing in the northern Atlantic in recent months, both on the Grand Banks and in the Barents Sea.

In the Barents Sea, a pristine area north of Norway, Greenpeace is working to establish a marine reserve and to protect the world's last healthy cod population. Factory trawlers like the Murtosa are part of a pirate fleet that the Norwegian Coast Guard estimates takes more than 100.000 tons of cod illegally each year in the Barents Sea. Check out this short video of actions taken this week.

Our work on the Grand Banks, an area off the coast of Canada that is one of the most biologically productive in the world, highlighted the failure of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to protect deepwater corals and other fragile habitats from bottom trawling. NAFO is perhaps most infamous for overseeing the collapse of Canada's cod fishery in 1992. To make matters worse, today NAFO is turning a blind eye to pirate fishing vessels that are scooping up what little there is left of the spawning stock that provides the only hope for the fishery's recovery.

Over the next two months, the United Nations General Assembly will be discussing what to do about pirate fishing (known in international law circles as IUU fishing, or fishing that is illegal, unreported and unregulated). Will the UN finally impose a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling? Will they begin the process of creating high seas marine reserves? Will the US do more to protect our oceans than they did at the UN last year?

If we had a few more heros and a few less Neros out there, I'd be a bit more optimistic - but for now, most bureaucrats seem to be happy with their fiddles.

On Sunday night, nine Greenpeace activists arrived on the ship after a weary day of travel. They will be spending a week onboard the Arctic Sunrise for training on our rigid inflatable boats (RIBs). The RIBs are what most people think of when they think of Greenpeace - small dinghies that speed around the ocean infuriating would-be environmental criminals by impeding or documenting their actions.

These activists all have had previous training on the RIBs and many have participated in actions with them. This week's lessons will cover highly advanced techniques like matching the speed and course of moving vessels, and forming a human pyramid on water skis being pulled by the RIBs.

Even though all the newcomers are skilled activists, most haven't been on the Arctic Sunrise before. In a bizarre twist of fate, I suddenly became a credible source for information about the ship. I spent Sunday night and Monday morning exclaiming, "Yes! I do know what that is! I do know where that goes! Who else has a question?" The student had become the teacher.

I sweet-talked my way into being allowed to participate in the advanced trainings, despite never having driven, ridden in or laid my eyes on one of our RIBs. It took about five minutes into the lecture for me to realize that I had regressed back into my proper role of confused, eager pupil. Oh well, it was a nice feeling while it lasted.

We covered standard safety procedures and radio etiquette and practiced launching and recovering the RIBs. Everyone got a chance to ride in the boats and some got to perform difficult maneuvers. I was thankful to just be one of the passengers for my first day of training. For a Greenpeace activist, riding in a RIB is the equivalent of an angel getting its wings.

We also added to our crew. Here are some snapshots of some more crew that came onboard in Boston.

New Crewmembers

Erkut, Mechanic Turkey	Gionni, Radio Op Italy	Kevin, Bosun United States
Maarga, Crew Administrator Netherlands

Tommorow I'll try my hand at driving one of the RIBs. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

-Maureen

It's 20 past midnight on Sunday morning. I volunteered to do a four-hour watch tonight in an attempt to score brownie points with the crew. The biggest advantage to doing a night watch is that you are exempt from the 7:30 wakeup call and the morning chores. Of course Sunday is the crew's day off, so there will be no wakeup calls or morning chores tomorrow. Hmm...there is a chance I may not have thought this all the way through.

Doing a watch does, in fact, involve watching. I do rounds of the ship checking for fires or anything out of the ordinary and I make sure no one boards the vessel that is not permitted. This would most likely be in the event of a gentleman that has had "one too many" - mistaking the massive icebreaker for his apartment. Essentially, for the next few hours I am responsible for the safety and security of the ship and everyone on board. I find myself drunk on Diet Coke spiked with my newfound, awesome power.

Mi Barco es su Barco

Today was my first experience participating in an Open Boat. Counting the donor reception last night, more than 100 Greenpeace supporters came onboard the Arctic Sunrise this weekend, despite the dismal New England weather. I recognized the starry eyes and gaping mouths of the Bostonians as they toured the ship, since I mirrored their expression nearly a week ago.

It was wonderful to speak with our supporters face to face. For them, it is an opportunity to experience a real-life manifestation of the organization that they have loved for so many years. For us, it is a humbling and motivating reminder that the work we do to protect the environment is only made possible because of their generosity. Our actions are on behalf of them.

Jeff - the very first donor to arrive last night - stepped onboard, presented me with a dozen red roses and a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Thank you so much for the work you do. I'm so pleased to be here." I shared the roses with the other female crewmember, Barbara (deckhand), and she was as delighted to receive them as I was.

Shortly after I met Jeff, I spoke with Ben. Ben said before the stock market crash, he donated to 100 non-profit organizations. Ever since, he has only been able to donate to five - one of them, of course, being Greenpeace.

I chatted with many others, from all walks of life, and I'd like to thank them all for coming out and for their continued support. We will host another Open Boat tomorrow, and with a little luck, the rain will stay away and someone else will bring me flowers.

-Maureen

P.S. With the arrival of Erkut (mechanic) today, our crew is now complete for the remainder of the East Coast tour. We set off for the Cape on Monday.

Anyone who has ever lived in a major city can appreciate the fine art of parallel parking. I, myself, am a master at squeezing my Mazda Protege seemingly effortlessly between two gas-guzzling SUVs. But parking a 163-foot ship on a 145-foot dock is a whole new ball game.

We slowly approached the undersized space at about 13:00 (that's 1:00 p.m. to you) yesterday. Docking a ship is when the deckhands truly shine. Three of the more burly hands were stationed at the front of the ship. They began by tossing the heaving line to some marina workers waiting on the dock. The workers quickly secured the line to the cleat and a game of tug-of-war ensued. The hands used all their might taking up the slack to shrink the distance between the vessel and the dock. Just when it looked like we were in the clear, the cleat ripped from the dock with a resounding bang.

Our principle of non-violence precludes us from destroying property, but I don't think this really counts. After we hauled the cleat from the sea and managed to dock the Arctic Sunrise on our second try, we happily returned the structure to the marina.

Good 'Ol USA

We were welcomed into the United States by a dozen or so armed officers of the U.S. Coast Guard. They boarded and searched the ship, and ensured all of our paperwork was in order. The special attention was a result of our ship being classified as a "High Interest Vessel." I'm not sure if all ships painted with bright rainbows and whales are of high interest to the Coast Guard, or just us.

The Coast Guard was not the only one curious about our ship. We docked next to the White Cloud - a GORGEOUS yacht. The cooks onboard prepared a care package for us, and showed up bearing nuts, chocolate, coffee and more. In exchange we offered some Greenpeace buttons, which they were thrilled to receive. Apparently, it is not uncommon for people to bestow gifts to the ship. The crew was grateful to receive the goodies, but I think we were all secretly waiting for the White Cloud to give us its hot tub onboard as well. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Later in the evening, some familiar faces from the D.C. office appeared. They've come to help us prepare for a donors reception to be held Friday evening. Without our donors, our work would not be possible, so it's nice when we have a chance to show our gratitude. We're planning on serving all our drinks tonight with ice taken from a Greenland glacier - how's that for class? Take THAT, White Cloud.

-Maureen

P.S. Welcome aboard Gionni and Kevin - our new Radio Operator and Bosun, respectively.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a sailor. Port and starboard are relatively easy, but terms like chain locker, gypsy and lazarette might as well be equal parts brain surgery and rocket science. On the Arctic Sunrise, everything is so new and so different from anything that I have ever done before, it has been difficult to find any kind of bearing. However after nearly five weeks aboard, I am finally finding my sea legs and a slight semblance of competence.

Each time I get directions, a piece of advice or a story from a crewmember, I can't help but think of the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child." All totaled, the crew's experience easily spans a century. While I dream about far off lands, they have been around the world and back again. Their breadth of knowledge makes my experiences seem relatively provincial in comparison.

Breaking through dense pack ice and navigating the waters around Greenland, they know the exact limits of this ship. They also know every corner, too. Without their diligent guidance I would be just another land lover, fumbling from one project to the next. Even as one crew departs and another embarks, I'm still the beginner.

My New Teachers

I've only spent a few days with this new crew that will tour the East Coast of the United States. Slowly, we are beginning the process of understanding one another. But it is second nature on a Greenpeace ship. I will glean important knowledge from this crew too.

Day by day, week by week pearls of wisdom are dropped carefully so as I am sure to find them. Each person has specific advice to make the whole function. But the crew is more than just engineer, first mate or deckhand. The original Project Thin Ice crew has seen the dramatic changes happening to Greenland's glaciers, firsthand. It is unfortunate to think that they may be some of the last "outside" people to witness the Arctic before global warming destroys it.

This boat and the other ships in the fleet are easily one of the most recognizable aspects of Greenpeace. They are like floating villages - raising their young, casting them out and hoping that sometime soon they will make the world a better place.

-Eric
Deckhand/Arctic Explorer

The Bahamas have long been one of the jewels of the Caribbean. A unique culture, spectacular coral reefs, abundant sharks and sea turtles, and dazzling beaches attract visitors from all over the world. Unfortunately, nothing is forever. The laid back atmosphere and rich biodiversity of the Bahamas may be about to go the way of the dinosaurs. And, as is often the case, local residents have little say in the matter.

The Discovery Land Company, a California-based development corporation, wants to build a golf course on Guana Cay. Discovery appears to pride itself on being a good steward of the land, and embracing the local culture. According to CEO Michael Meldman, "Anyone can build houses, roads and golf courses. All that takes is money. You cannot, however, recreate the natural beauty of the environment with any amount of money. The value is always in the land."

It is difficult to reconcile these words with the fact that Guana Cay residents strongly oppose the development, or that scientists are concerned that building a golf course on the edge of a coral reef would be a disaster. Too often, people get caught up in discussions about industry best practices or mitigation schemes, and lose sight of the fact that some types of development are just not appropriate for all locations. It may be a modern golf course, and it may even be a model golf course - but the reality is that no matter how nicely Discovery dresses this up, it is going to damage the reef and change the character of the island.

What makes this even more tragic is that the Guana Cay development is just one of a thousand similar mistakes taking place all over the Caribbean. Again and again, greed and power politics have trumped the wishes of the majority of people who recognize that unchecked development is jeopardizing the health of coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Globally, one-third of the world’s reefs have already been severely damaged and at least half of them are expected to be gone by 2035. In the Florida Keys, 80% of the living coral has been lost in the last 40 years.

Even slight increases in nutrient levels from sewage or fertilizer runoff can feed algae growth and choke corals, a problem that has been heightened by overfishing of parrotfish and other species that graze on algae. Pesticides have been linked to coral disease. Removal of coastal vegetation combined with the enormous amount of fresh water required to sustain a golf course can change the salinity in nearshore waters. And then there's the problems with dredging, not to mention the waste, erosion, noise, and oil and gas spillage associated with bringing thousands of people and their boats each year to one small area.

Local residents have taken their fight to the Supreme Court, but so far things are not going well. They hope to hear the results of their appeal in the next month or two. In the meantime, construction has already begun. To get the whole story - and to get involved - visit www.saveguanacayreef.com or www.notesfromtheroad.com/WestIndies/bakers_bay_intro.htm.

For another example of how unsustainable development is killing the Bahamas, visit
www.miami.edu/sharklab/news.html.

We left Canada on Monday night and headed for Boston, Massachusetts. I was sorry I wasn't able to stay longer because Halifax seemed very nice (based on the airport and my taxi ride, that is).

I had heard the horror stories of seasick crew and prepared myself for the worst. The ship is definitely wobbly, even with a calm ocean, but I'm fairing much better than I expected. I thought that sleeping would prove difficult, but as Tom (Radio Operator) pointed out, "it's just like when you were rocked by your mother as a child." Which I think explains why babies spit up so often.

My first full day at sea was Tuesday. While I was below deck, other crewmembers spotted some whales and even a seal, which I was really bummed to have missed. But fortunately, I saw some whales today and my bitterness subsided. Other highlights of yesterday included a safety training for new crew, a campaign briefing and my first ever barbecue in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, back in D.C., our activists pulled off an impressive protest about chemical security. Read all about it here.

We should be docking in Beantown tonight or tomorrow. I spent eight years living in Marlboro (about 30 miles outside of Boston) and another four years at college in Easton (25 miles away). So in addition to the hundreds of supporters we'll be welcoming onboard this weekend, I'm hoping to see some friends and family. And by "hoping" I mean "expecting," so you can forget about those lame excuses and come visit me (you know who you are!).

Our arrival in Boston means our campaign work is now in full swing. Convincing nearly 300 million of my fellow Americans that global warming is happening right now with devastating consequences, seems like an insurmountable task. Of course, the other six billion people in the world have already realized it, so with that in mind, I'm more optimistic. Massachusetts seems like a perfect starting point.

-Maureen

Living on the Arctic Sunrise is like visiting another country. You get lost easily, you're unaware of the customs and you're trying to fit in with the "locals." The crewmembers, my family for the next month, are quite a cast of characters to say the least. It's a good thing the Statue of Liberty is inscribed,

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Ok, United States, you asked for it:

Alain, Deckhand France	Barbara, Deckhand Germany	Bob, Chief Engineer United Kingdom
Charles, Cook Canada	Chris, Campaigner United States	Eric, Deckhand United States
Frank, Captain Netherlands	Lino, 2nd Engineer Colombia	Mathew, Asst Cook United States
Maureen, Webbie United States	Olivier, 2nd Mate Canada	Paul, 1st Mate Canada
Phil, Bosun New Zealand	PoPaul, Deckhand Canada	Raul, Electrician Curacao
Thom, Deckhand Belgium	Tom, Radio Op United States

A world map in the mess has a model ship tacked to it to show our position. Note: Image is not to scale :)

All summer, I've been counting down the days until I was onboard the Arctic Sunrise. Now that that day is here, I'm sure my friends, family, coworkers, mailman, dentist and most residents of Washington, D.C. are enjoying a sigh of relief. I admit, I have been talking about the trip somewhat incessantly, but it's not everyday I get to spend a month working on a 160-foot vessel.

I will be acting as the web person for the duration of the Project Thin Ice tour. I've been following the work we did in Greenland closely, and hope my experiences are as memorable and successful as the original crew's were. Although I have a feeling that traveling from Canada to Miami, I will not be seeing as many glaciers as they did in Greenland...A special thanks to Andrew for providing such a detailed account of the work to date.

Today, as the ship was docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the crew went their separate ways for some well-deserved time off and a new team was brought onboard. Chris (Climate and Clean Energy Campaigner), Matthew (Assistant Cook) and I joined the ship from the states last night, and tonight we head to Boston - the first of many stops in the United States.

As excited as I am to begin this journey, I recognize that there will be some low points along the way. So in the tradition of David Letterman, I came up with my own "Top 10 List" of pros and cons for participating in the remainder of the Project Thin Ice tour:

#10: Pro - will get to find out why it's called the poop deck;
#9: Con - will not be a phone call away from having a pizza delivered to my door;
#8: Con - will miss a month's worth of episodes of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart;
#7: Pro - won't have to cook for a month (or eat my cooking for that matter);
#6: Con - will miss my friends, family, boyfriend and dog (not necessarily in that order);
#5: Con - will not really be able to exercise (wait...did I say "con"?);
#4: Pro - will get to meet activists from all over the world;
#3: Pro - New York City, baby!
#2: Con - will soon learn my preference: original dramamine or orange flavored?
#1: Pro - will get to see whales and dolphins (I do work for Greenpeace after all!)

-Maureen

First, I hope your friends and family are ok.

I just got back from a meeting in Europe, where news coverage toggled between horror at the human suffering caused by Katrina and fingers pointed at President Bush and other architects of the policies that left the residents of the region - human and otherwise - unnecessarily vulnerable. Now that I'm back home in Texas, where we are hosting 250,000 displaced people, it is hard to save much energy for outrage when we are surrounded by so many people with immediate, basic needs. If you can, contribute to relief efforts.

Greenpeace is helping raise money and recruit volunteers. We are also compiling information for the media on the emerging problems associated with oil, gas, and chemical spills.

Meanwhile, industry is taking the opportunity to point out lessons we should learn from this disaster. What lessons, you may ask? Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which feed global warming and brew extreme weather events? Decrease use of toxic chemicals? Improve safety and security around high-risk plants? Abandon dangerous off-shore oil and gas platforms?

No. Industry's answer is that we need to scrap the moratorium on offshore drilling. Yesterday, about 100 corporations and front groups sent a joint letter urging Congress to "reduce the nation's vulnerability to sudden energy shocks by expanding our sources and supplies of energy -- especially in our coastal waters."

[Expletive deleted]!!!

Are they really saying that what we need to do is to take the unacceptable risks that were forced on the people of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama and extend them to the rest of the country?

Unbelievable.

Be safe -

John H

We have been sailing our way up, and now back down, the St. Lawrence River for the past week. Along the way we have made new friends and big headlines.

"Power to Change" is Greenpeace Canada's climate campaign tour with the Arctic Sunrise. While Canada has already ratified the Kyoto Protocol, it is still one of the highest greenhouse gas emitters in the world - at least on a per capita basis. Unfortunately, the federal government's policy on reducing emissions hasn't changed much and is essentially the same as before Kyoto.

"The government still needs to focus on reducing subsidies of fossil fuels and shifting toward renewable energy solutions," remarked Stephen Guilbeult, climate and energy campaigner and director of Greenpeace Quebec.

Our stay in Quebec City, Three Rivers and Montreal was successful to say the least. In fact, during the two days of open boats in Montreal, almost 2,400 people toured the Arctic Sunrise. Luckily for us crew, around 40 canvassers helped give tours. All agreed that the open boats were very successful at highlighting the changes happening in Greenland, providing new media coverage on climate change and exposing people to Greenpeace.

The other major part of the Power to Change campaign was an action on September 5 against Gentuilly-2 (G2), the only nuclear reactor in all of Quebec. Over 100 people in canoes, kayaks and rafts participated. Much of the success of the action was due to utilizing and pulling different groups (Nuclear Awareness Project, Environnement Jeunesse, Assembly of First nations for Quebec and Labrador) together to push to get G2 to close down by 2010.

The action was a huge success and received front, second and third page coverage in all the Quebec-based newspapers. Since the ship has been in Canada, there have been almost 100 media hits in local, provincial and federal media.

What's next you may ask for ship and crew? Stay tuned, there is always more to come.

-Eric