Page 30 - Vegan Life - Issue 59 (February 2020)

Ocean warriors
I worked as a deckhand, carrying out
standard duties like cleaning, rust
repair and painting before heading out
on my first Antarctic whale defence
campaign. That’s when I learnt about
small boat operations, making prop-
foulers, carrying out emergency damage
control, fire-fighting with more than a
nine litre extinguisher and how to sleep in
monstrous 10 metre seas. It was a dream
come true. Toothfish poaching vessel, Thunder sinking
Sea Shepherd’s direct interventions
during Operation Divine Wind saved the
lives of 764 whales and I headed home Photo: Simon Ager.
more determined than ever to up-skill
and get myself back there. I went to
night classes to learn how to weld, took
a small boat operator’s licence on the a limit to how much you can prepare for he was arrested and charged in São Tomé
River Humber and practiced navigation facing down a fleet of whaling ships in the along with his chief and second engineers.
in my RYA exercise manual. Proving frigid waters of Antarctica. Most seafarers I found myself shiting from the deck
myself a valuable crew member was never experience collisions; witness ships department to the bridge, becoming a
important to me and I returned to the sinking; carry out evasive manoeuvres ship manager and navigation oficer in
Bob in August 2012. to avoid prop-fouling materials or build 2014 and achieved a Master of Yachts
My determination came at a price make-shit devices to cut them loose; have qualification in 2015. I continued work
though. I quit my career as an academic to duck to miss projectiles launched from as a senior oficer and in 2016 headed to
librarian, dumped my mortgage on my aggressive harpoon ships; or need to hang Turkey to join the Ocean Warrior — Sea
long-sufering ex-partner and swore to over the side of their monkey decks to Shepherd’s first custom-built high-speed
my cat that I’d return for her one day. My re-weld navigation lights in place ater a interceptor. Its maiden voyage took us
family may not have always understood violent confrontation. Well, I’ve done it all. from Turkey to Australia, through the
why I chose to risk my life to save whales, During my time as a Sea Shepherd Suez Canel and Somalia’s pirate-infested
but they were (and still are) immensely crew member, I participated in three waters, but not before a stop in the
proud of me. Southern Ocean whale defence Netherlands to introduce the new-build
campaigns; led Gabonese and Liberian to hundreds of supporters.
Anchors aweigh boarding parties in patrolling their
Life as a Sea Shepherd crew member is, exclusive economic zones for illegal, Life ater sea
of course, not always about action unreported and unregulated fishing Operation Zero Tolerance and Operation
— especially in port when you’re operators; drove pods of pilot whales away Relentless saved the lives of a further 932
preparing the ship for a campaign. It’s from the Faroese shorelines back and 784 whales respectively; Operation
a lot of hard monotonous work with to the safety of open water and chased Icefish resulted in the longest maritime
very little glamour and a whole heap a notorious toothfish poaching vessel hot pursuit on record, and our actions
of cuts and bruises. (as part of Operation Icefish) from during the first Operation Albacore in
While still in port we’d also run regular Antarctica to the west coast of Africa, Gabon led to the arrests of four illegal
training drills to prepare ourselves for the where the captain eventually sunk it to fishing operators, launching further
dangers of being at sea, but there really is evade authorities — it didn’t work though, campaigns around Africa that are still
active today. These are some of my
proudest moments with Sea Shepherd.
At the end of 2017, I returned to some-
what ‘normal life’ and excitedly accepted
the role of campaigns manager with Viva!.
Now based in Bristol, I continue work
campaigning for animals through exposing
the atrocities of factory farming and
promoting veganism to the masses. ■

Photo: Simon Ager. Yushin Maru 3, Japanese harpoon ship Lex will be talking at Vegan Life Live
(veganlifelive.com). Catch her discussion:
Caught Out — Why Aquaculture isn’t the
Solution to Overfishing.

Words by Lex Rigby, viva.org.uk

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