Status Update From Paul Watson Adrift in a Beautiful Sea of Self Enlightenment After nearly two weeks out of contact I am back in touch with the world once again and happy to see how everything is proceeding quite smoothly during my absence. Sea Shepherd around the world has a great team independently working to defend and protect our oceans. The current trial in The Hague by Australia against Japan’s bogus scientific whaling operations is going very well and Japan is not even attempting to justify their “science.” Instead they are making themselves look foolish by claiming “cultural rights” to kill whales in the Southern Ocean and insinuating that any nation, organization or person who disagrees with them is racist. Sea Shepherd is hopeful that the courts will rule in favour of the whales and life and that Australia will prevail over the whalers and death. We are hopeful that there will be no reason for Sea Shepherd ships to return to the Southern Ocean but prepared to do so if need be. Sea Shepherd continues to defend diversity and life in our oceans, in the courts, in the media and in the field, with hundreds of courageous, imaginative and passionate people utilizing their skills and abilities to make a difference. In two weeks it will mark a year since I left Germany to go to sea, and I have been at sea ever since. A century and a half ago people went to sea for years without anything close to the modern conveniences, navigational aids and communication resources that we have today. So it has not been an unpleasant experience. A trifle inconvenient of course but there is always inconvenience and obstacles to be encountered when taking on formidable forces. During the last year I have not had to drive a car, fly in an airplane, endure a traffic jam, walk down a crowded street, breathe polluted air, eat in a restaurant, or endure so many of the annoyances of modern society. Life on a ship also reinforces our individual responsibilities. On a ship you are always aware of your limitations with fuel, water, and food. You are also responsible for dealing with and recycling garbage and treating sewage. In addition there is the responsibility for maintaining and repairing propulsion, plumbing, electrical and navigational systems. In short it is like living on a spaceship completely independent of society and that is an experience to be valued and appreciated. And the benefits are wonderful. Daily sunrises and sunsets, green flashes, lightning crackling across the sky with rolling thunder and ever changing cloud formations, the magic of the Milky Way spreading across the night sky, the constellations, the full moon, the tides, the wind, the storms and the calm serenity of a motionless sea. Life at sea is constant change, constant movement, with daily unpredictability, and every day there is a feeling of being truly and vibrantly alive. There are sea birds overhead and dolphins occasionally riding the bow and Humpback whales breaching. There are shark fins breaking the surface, flying fish skidding across the waves and turtles riding alongside, and at night the bioluminescence of numerous micro-organisms outlining the forms of dolphins and fish beneath the surface. I have been reading books on ecology, oceanography, physics, cosmology, poetry and nautical history, working on writing my own books, writing letters and writing poetry, listening to music and watching documentaries along with catching up on season three of The Borgias and Game of Thrones. The only thing I miss is not being able to spend time with the people I love but at least with Skype I can see and hear them. But the one thing that I find most satisfying is the fact so many passionate and wonderful people are continuing the work of Sea Shepherd worldwide and that the organization that I started in 1977 is now an evolving and growing global movement. Amidst such beauty and natural wonderment, it is impossible to feel anything but joy and satisfaction with life and the natural world. And now that the Humpbacks have come north to give birth to their calves, I can’t help but wonder which of them would not be here if not for Sea Shepherd’s intervention back in January and February. I know that some of the calves being born are coming into this world because Sea Shepherd acted and prevented the Japanese from murdering their mothers. And that more than anything else makes me supremely happy.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 02:15:26 +0000
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