More on the iPatch later. For now, can you identify this foto from the bridge of a self-described flagship? Clues lurk. I had a tour aboard this morning from G, a biology teacher (among other things) from Brazil. Notice the glass container below the gauge mounted on the window pillar.
The flag is Tibet, and the globe . . . a gift from the Dalai Lama.
The hull of this repurposed ex-Scottish Fisheries Protection Vessel (FPV) Westra is painted black. Dimensions are 196′ x 36′ x 14′, capable of 16.5 kts, layover in the sixth boro until Saturday on a voyage that has seen such stops as Pitcairn Island and the Galapagos.
It’s Steve Irwin, flagship of
Sea Shepherd, what Raffi Khatchadourian‘s November 2007 New Yorker article called “Neptune’s Navy.”
Tours run daily from 10 until 3. Fundraiser Friday night . . . details here. Here’s the letter of support from the Dalai Lama. Izod logo just happens to be at the end of the pier, but –hey–maybe they’re supporters too.
Click here for a report on the loss of a portion of the Sea Shepherd fleet–Ady Gil— on January 7, 2010. A Sea Shepherd hero is Henry Morgan, privateer, who fought fire with fire, or piracy with piracy.
All fotos, Will Van Dorp.
For an update on Captain Bethune of Ady Gil, now called a political prisoner of the Japanese, click here.
iPatch . . . just a thought, a name I hereby coin. This is my vision of a new miracle product by the folks who brought us iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad . . . the iPatch . . . a hightech gadget–a panacea, if you will–that will restore balance between the species, mutual respect among the peoples of the earth, rid the seas of pirates and plastic patches, . . . what else . . ..
Disclosure: Not owning a TV, I’ve never seen an episode of Whale Wars, although I have seen its parody on YouTube.
Uhhh . . . Johnny Depp’s pirate ship?
tugster: a waterblog 
15 comments
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April 27, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Jed
Is this the vessel from Whale Wars?
April 27, 2010 at 3:08 pm
tugster
the very same. on passage between antarctica and the med. wait long enough and i guess everything makes it way thru the sixth boro.
April 27, 2010 at 3:15 pm
my2fish
tugster, I wish your iPatch idea had come out earlier… it’s already been taken, by a program for Mac’s, as well as these cartoons, usually seen a lot around “Talk Like a Pirate Day”.
April 27, 2010 at 3:23 pm
tugster
guess i could tweak it to . . . . “shiver m iPatch” or iPadtch or … help me out here.
April 28, 2010 at 5:49 am
bowsprite
is that a ‘glove’ or ‘globe’ gift from the Dalai Lama? well, I bet he wants it back, or maybe to say it isn’t from him.
April 28, 2010 at 6:46 am
tugster
bowsprite– what G explained is that SeaSheperd’s POV is that they are a non-violent organization in that they do damage to “non-sentient” things . . . like ramming ships and that the Dalai Lama supports that. they do not deliberately harm other people. just a clarification. what’s in the globe does in fact look like a glove, but it’s a cross between a spirit and a mountain scene.
April 28, 2010 at 12:27 pm
bowsprite
well, they got it wrong, then, and many things wrong.
Dalai Lama: “Help others. If you cannot help others, then at least do not do harm to them.”
And you have it wrong, dear: they DO harm people, particularly, their own crew.
April 28, 2010 at 1:58 pm
tugster
i would not sign on to a sea shepherd campaign because it seems really dangerous, but i am disturbed to see the “research-justified” industrial killing of even one whale. and let me add sincerely that as a former farm kid who witnessed cows killed in the slaughterhouse (for the freezer) and pigs killed in the backyard (also for the freezer) and who used to faithfully starting from about age 10 do my chores and kill one of the chickens weekly for the sunday dinner . . . it seems the industrial killing of whales is just different. ok . .. i said it. i’m ready. i’ve drawn fire and am hunkered down for the response volley.
April 28, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Mark
little has changed since the Dalai Lama (1998) made the gesture to Paul, I wouldn’t worry about him changing his position. If you look at their history they have actually moderated somewhat in recent years.
About the crew: They are fully aware of what they get themselves into and Sea Shepherd’s injury record is very impressive given their work. With respect to injuring others, research proves injury allegations are dubious at best and unsubstantiated.
April 29, 2010 at 6:06 am
jeff s
does anyone know what became of the first SEA SHEPERD? she was built in 1962 as trawler ST.GILES in Scotland. after years of doing Sea Sheperd stuff she was a write-off and plans were to scuttle her off Vancouver with a cargo of gillnets. i never found out if this ever happened…..or did she suffer a less dramatic fate?
April 29, 2010 at 6:42 am
Mark
I have never heard anything different about the Sea Shepherd, although I have seen pictures of Sea Shepherd II still afloat as a ghost ship. Whoever the owners were after Sea Shepherd sold her must have done very little with the vessel.
April 29, 2010 at 6:39 am
will
jeff– i’m not in a place where i can properly research . . . was this the vessel named farley mowatt? if so, i do have some info to share later.
–will
April 30, 2010 at 4:36 am
jeff s
The FARLEY MOWAT was a later vessel, i think. The SEA SHEPHERD I’m talking about was back in the 80’s-90’s. she was in so many rammings and other incidents that she became unseaworty. the Sea Shepherd’s newsletter noted that she was to be scuttled with a load of illegal fishnets but i don’t think the Canadian authorities allowed that to happen. at least there is no ”final chapter” that i can find.
April 30, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Bonnie
Greenpeace’s commentary is interesting –
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/paul-watson-sea-shepherd-and
May 1, 2010 at 10:05 pm
paulb
Paul Watson likes to point out that he hasn’t had a casualty in his 20-odd Antarctic expeditions, but there’s an unspoken “…yet” that is as subtle as a fart in a car. This is done to justify the fact that he apparently is either unwilling or unable to actually get licensed as an actual captain. Thus far, his title is purely an honorific. In the meanwhile, with a steady supply of idiot kids for free labor, we get to see firsthand the number of near misses,as well as a glaring lack of bridge management, seamanship and situational awareness. Despite the hot-and-cold running unpaid volunteers, it becomes instantly obvious to the professional mariner that Mr. Watson and his unemployable crew have no idea how to train their volunteers to the point where they don’t endanger themselves and everyone around them on a moment-by-moment basis.
My personal favorite moment in the show, BTB, was when they were in the ice pack, and Mr. Watson had to instruct the officer of the watch to call out course changes as ‘left’ or ‘right,’ because he couldn’t tell Port from Starboard, and was also unable to alter course to steer to specific compass headings. ’nuff said.