If you tolerate this... the Greenpeace weblog

An albatross visits next to the Rainbow Warrior (C) Greenpeace / Grace

It feels really bizarre being hundreds of miles from anywhere, with several of kilometres of water underneath us. Apart from the ever-changing sky and the infinite waves, there's little to see. That doesn't stop many of us from sitting up in the bridge, or standing out on deck, watching the spray coming over the bows, or watching the moonlight on the swell.

Visitors come to the Rainbow Warrior, albatrosses that swing by, fly around, stay awhile, then vanish. Lesley, our medic, is an avid alba-spotter, and has so far have identified juvenile black-browed mollymawks, and some dark-coloured juvenile wandering albatrosses.

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As you know, we're on the Rainbow Warrior as part of an international campaign to protect the deep sea. While we're out here in the middle of the ocean, things are happening elsewhere...

News arrived this morning from our colleagues in Greenpeace New Zealand, who had just performed a peaceful land-based protest at the Orange Roughy Management Company headquarters in Nelson, a major fishing port in the South Island.

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Teuthowenia sp., a cranchiid squid from New Zealand waters ©ExploreTheAbyss.com

Hi, this is Kat (marine biologist on the Rainbow Warrior). One of my projects on this voyage will be to sample the small squid in the surface layers of the international waters we pass through. Using a fine-meshed net to collect squid at dawn, dusk, and sometimes at night, I'll examine them to see what they are, how old they are, and what they are eating. This information will help us understand more about both the geographic and vertical distribution of these species, their life cycles, and their diets. MORE...

Dolphins alongside the Rainbow Warrior (C) Greenpeace

All over the Rainbow Warrior, there are carvings and emblems of Dolphins. There are Greenpeace books about them, crewmembers wear t-shirts emblazoned with Dolphins logos. We're just four days into our voyage, and the dolphins have inspired us again. But before you all start groaning under the weight of cliches, read on... MORE...

The view from Dave's office

This morning I woke up at 6:50am, and could feel the ship rolling from side to side. There was a strong sea outside, but I felt lulled, cradled by the waves, and dozed off again. It's quite a contrast. Yesterday, we had blue skies and warm sun... today its driving rain, strong winds, and a good swell. We're not talking Perfect Storm waves here, but it's rough enough for our third day at sea. As I write, there's some slightly green crewmembers seeking refuge in the wheelhouse. MORE...

As well as the recent hijinks on the high seas our local volunteers and activists have been busy in supermarkets around world, communicating the message that we are not going to accept genetically engineered food whether we are in Brisbane or in Barcelona.

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