I refuse to let a tropical storm or a government agency on a power trip ruin what otherwise was an incredible experience. We had a lot of great times onboard, and even when things got bad, that's when we laughed the most.

I learned how to drive a rigid inflatable boat, I spent a wonderful weekend in New York City and I got to experience a protest as a "protestee" rather than an activist. Over the last month, I was fortunate enough to get to know an unforgettable crew and it was a pleasure to work with all of them. I'd also like to give a shout out to the people in the office who have been providing support for this project on land. We couldn't have pulled it off without you.

I'm really proud of the work we did during this tour. The open boats, press conference and projections in Cape Cod generated a lot of support for the proposed offshore wind farm. We're all confident that it will become a reality as early as next year. Combined with the groundbreaking research conducted in Greenland and Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larson's polar expedition, Project Thin Ice 2005 has truly made a difference in the fight to stop global warning. Even though this project has come to an end, climate change work will continue.

A lot of the crew asked me if I would want to do another ship tour in the future. My answer is "absolutely". I just hope I'm lucky enough to get the chance again.

- Maureen

We should have arrived in Miami on Friday, but the weather made that impossible. So we re-arranged our press conference for Saturday and knew we would have to scramble a bit to host our donor event and Open Boats on Saturday and Sunday. But the powers-that-be came together to make sure that didn't happen.

Miamarina at Bayside (a marina in downtown Miami operated by the City of Miami) never bothered to look at the depth of their berths. When they finally did, they found out that is was too shallow to have the Arctic Sunrise there. Scrambling at the last minute to find another spot, we came up empty handed.

Everywhere else was too shallow or occupied. If trouble bringing our ship to Miami sounds familiar, you probably remember the runaround we got in 2003, when the Justice Department put the entire Greenpeace organization on trial, threatening the right to free speech. A judge ultimately threw the case out of court.

Donor reception onboard? Cancelled. Press conference to oppose offshore drilling? Cancelled. Open Boats? Cancelled. There were a lot of disappointed Floridians this weekend, and all of us onboard feel terrible about the turn of events. We have a lot of passionate, dedicated supporters in Miami that helped us pull off an incredible image in 2004, and we were all looking forward to seeing them again.

Our Tax Dollars at Work

So plan B was to dock in Fort Lauderdale. We changed course and set off for our new destination and that's when the Coast Guard stepped in. They informed us that they needed 72-hour notice for a destination change so we were NOT allowed to enter Fort Lauderdale and we had to stay 12 miles out to sea. If we disobeyed these instructions, we would be fined up to $50,000 and the Captain could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

I am ashamed and embarrassed by my government (it's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last). It doesn't serve any purpose to make us jump through these hoops. The international crew has traveled to every corner of the world, and the only time they get hassled is in the United States and it happens EVERY time.

I am constantly amazed by the amount of time, energy and money the Bush administration spends on reinforcing the fear of terrorism on the American people. If Americans knew that the agencies designed to protect us from danger waste their time on silly games like this one, I'm sure they would be as furious as I am.

The Coast Guard even told our ship agent that they were "throwing the book at us." So, count up all the hours wasted by the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, the Coast Guard, the Broward County Sheriff's Office, and even the park rangers at the lovely state park where we were to host our donor event, and wonder how your tax dollars are spent to fight the real terrorists.

Meanwhile, there are 14 people waiting to get off this ship and return home, and there are two crewmembers in Miami waiting to get onboard. The Arctic Sunrise is scheduled to depart for Cape Town on Monday evening and a 30-day supply of food needs to be bought, six weeks of recyclables and trash need to be disposed of and Tweety - the Greenpeace helicopter - needs to be brought back onboard.

We thought we would be in port three days ago, so we are running low on provisions (not to mention all the food that ended up on the floor and the walls during Tammy). Some activists from the D.C. office came down to help with the supporter events, and they are not even allowed to bring us out supplies from land. We are also just far enough to be out of cell phone range, so people can't speak to their loved ones or make new arrangements since they'll be arriving home days late.

We can see Fort Lauderdale from our port side (it's 12 miles away...at least). We are so close and yet so far. Our latest information is that we will be allowed to drop anchor one mile off the coast (whoopee) at 11:45 Monday morning. Then, we'll use our rigid inflatable boats to take the people leaving the ship onto land and bring new crewmembers and supplies onboard. Of course, we've already missed our flights and Monday is Columbus Day so all the other flights are booked. We still don't have any real idea of when we'll get home.

-Maureen

For dinner, the cook still wasn't able to cook so he reheated and laid out a buffet of leftovers including spaghetti, mashed potatoes, fruit and ice cream. The first two crewmembers got their dinner without incident, and third and fourth in line were Mathew (assistant cook) and Olivier (second mate). A wave came as the two were preparing their plates, so they held onto a slate of wood on the countertop until it passed. But instead of keeping the pair steady, the wood broke free and sent Matt and Olivier sailing across the messroom floor. Not far behind them was the entire buffet the cook had set out. That's when things took a turn for the worse.

The messroom was officially declared a disaster area. At the height of the cleaning, there were probably eight of us trying to throw away the food and mop up the remains. Another particularly big wave hit and Barbara (deckhand) was slammed into a table. I then slammed into Barbara and the wave began to swing back the other way. I saw Eric (explorer/deckhand) coming for us at high speed, but I wasn't able to get out of the way in time. He knocked our legs out from under us and the three of tumbled to the ground. Spectators said it was like Eric was a bowling ball and Barbara and I the pins.

Tammy is a tropical storm that formed just off Florida's east coast early Wednesday, dropping rain into north Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. We changed our course to avoid going straight through it and have been dancing around the outskirts of it for a few days now. I don't know many specifics of the storm, but we've been feeling windspeeds of about 60 knots and our ship has rolled more than 60 degrees a few times. The maximum number the ship can register is 70 degrees.

A Smelly, Hungry, Bruised Crew

Showers are off limits, and are needed more than ever since most crewmembers have been rolling around in food. Everytime we finish mopping up an area, someone else wipes out and spills the bucket of mop water all over and we start again. Chris (campaigner) was trying to help in the galley and had a collision with the dishwasher. Rumor has it you can see the brand name of the dishwasher imprinted on his leg.

I've lost count of the number of people I have seen bounce off walls, ejected from chairs or tossed off couches. The only people onboard without black and blue marks are the ones that have been holed up in their rooms with sea sickness. Every time someone falls down someone else chirps "looks like you forgot to pay your gravity bill" and for some reason, even after 100 times, we find it funny.

The one comforting thing onboard is a visit to the bridge. It's the scariest view, and because it's at the top of the ship, it rolls more than anywhere else. But whether it's the captain, first mate or second mate at the helm, it's comforting to see how at ease they are in the midst of the drama. They chuckle at your suggestions that the situation is anything anyone should be worried about and tell stories about "real" storms they've seen over the years.

I don't think I would mind if this is the worst weather I ever experience while at sea, and my guess is most people onboard feel the same way. We're all looking forward to arriving in Miami, but everyone is trying to keep each other's spirits up and we can't wait to tell our friends about our skirmish with the Atlantic Ocean.

-Maureen

By Wednesday morning Allison and Taleen had made an impressive recovery, but the other four aren't showing much improvement. Some are using a patch, others dramamine and others motion sickness wristbands. Apparently there is an old sailor's antidote for seasickness: put a rock in your shoe. Your foot will hurt so bad that you don't notice the nausea. I don't think anyone has tried that one yet.

It's no surprise that so many are sick, the ocean has been VERY choppy and the ship is ROLLING mercilessly. For those of us who feel ok, the ship has become an obstacle course with danger at every turn. Walking down the alleyways, going up the stairs and even sitting in a chair is a challenge. Since I sat down to write this, a wave carried my chair all the way to the port side of the office and then sent me hurtling toward the starboard side where I was caught by Chris (campaigner). Taleen wasn't as lucky. She ended up sprawled under the desk, completely hidden from view, laughing hysterically.

Boo

Afterwards, I went down to the mess to have a snack. I opened the fridge and half the contents came spilling out. As I started to clean it up, a cabinet burst open and two glasses flew out, crashing into the opposite wall and shattering all over the kitchen. As this was happening, the condiment jars secured to the kitchen table were rattling and the dishes in the sink were clanking. I felt like I was in a bad horror movie where a haunted house is letting the new owners know that they are not welcome.

A few seconds later, three or four people came running into the kitchen to see what had happened and found me crouched in a corner holding on for dear life. They took one look at the mess in the mess (ha ha) and asked me, "What did you do?"

After I explained that I did nothing and that the mess was haunted, they helped me clean up. As we were sweeping, Barbara (deckhand) rushed into the mess looking for ice. Taleen had banged her leg pretty badly on a door and this time she wasn't laughing.

We're going against the Gulf Stream and during one four-hour shift last night we had only travelled 30 miles. It's expected that the conditions will not improve for at least another 24 hours, so there's no doubt there will be more excitement to come.

-Maureen

Everyone onboard has been wonderful, very friendly and open-minded. There is an international crew which provides for a diversity of thought and conversation. Some have talked about finding a "rhythm" that goes along with everything. It's true, there is a rhythm to the ship, the crew and the ocean - and it's been nice to be given the chance to search for that.

I look forward to seeing up close everything that makes sailing a ship possible.

-Andrea
Project Thin Ice Competition Winner