Former Earthrace Boat crashes into ship

[Barry Eller]

The former Earthrace boat has been sold and used by an anti-whaling organization. It has collided with a Japanese whaling ship and here is a video of the crash.


http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/17481983


Denise and I went aboard the Earthrace boat when it visited the Port of Pensacola.


http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=47781&highlight=earthrace

[Bamboo Loui]

Lots of + - regarding the whale savers--

personally, whales have given me more insight to us as sharers of this place. I have a tough time with the Japanese whalers, as I also have the same tough time with whalers from other countries. I do not consider myself to be a greenie. But-- I do remember my kids seeing their first whales on Maui, and then even more in Alaska, the eagles, the otters and on and on forever-- I want my descendents to enjoy the wonder of life. God bless these nutballs that go out at their peril and to he!! with the Japanese and there ilk.

[BUIZILLA]

idiots...

like having a Yugo and playing chicken with a Peterbilt

[silverghost]

It is reported that 10' of the bow was sheard off and the boat is sinking as of noon Wed by a Japanese whaler ramming it.
Bob Barker 86 donated $5 million to purchase this boat along with a larger ship for the Sea Shepherd Group.
"Remember~Have your pets Spayed & Neutered !"

[Jraysray]

idiots...

like having a Yugo and playing chicken with a Peterbilt

Seriously,,, IDIOTS. Now what? The whaler floats on and they do not have the speed boat needed to keep up with the whaling fleet. The Steve Erwin would get out run all the time.

Yeah I watched the shows on TV

[silverghost]

The Boat has indeed sunk !
They should have bought an old Russian Ice-Breaker !
This would have been a better Match-up.

[zelatore]

I just saw the videos in an email from a friend.

There is no question the Japanese ship is the give-way vessel in that crossing situation, however from it's on-board footage you can clearly see the black boat accelerate just before the collision. Watch it's wake.

In the footage shot from the 3rd boat it does look like the Japanese ship turned to starboard just before the collision, but I think it's more a matter of sea state than a deliberate turn.

While I don't approve of the Japanese hunting whales under the pretense of 'research', what these guys are doing is just idiotic and stupid. They deliberately attempt to sabotage the whaling ships.

Sounds sort of like an act of terrorism, doesn't it?

[silverghost]

Yes ~
Terror for the whales !
This Japanese "Reseach"group killed 700 whales last season.
Some Research !

[Cuda]

It's like trying to run an 18 wheeler off the road with a motorcycle. The motorcycle will lose everytime. They brought a knife to a gun fight.

[gcarter]

Sounds sort of like an act of terrorism, doesn't it?

Like spiking trees to kill lumberjacks.......For every lumberjack that gets mangled, they ought to put one of those idiots in prison for life...maybe they could draw straws or something.
Or the other idiots that burn down SUV dealerships, destroying property and putting people out of work.

[zelatore]

Yes ~
Terror for the whales !
This Japanese "Reseach"group killed 700 whales last season.
Some Research !

As I said, I don't approve of the Japanese hunting whales, whether they call it research or not it's clear what they are doing.

But the fact remains they are not breaking the law. On the other hand, deliberately fouling the propeller and rudder of a ship IS breaking the law; it's an act of vandalism at best, terrorism at worst, and quite frankly if you're stupid enough to put yourself in that position you deserve what you get.

So I'm with you on saving the whales. But I can't offer the least bit of support for these guys' techniques.

Like George said, it's no different than spiking trees. Somebody's going to get hurt because of their actions and they need to be held accountable.

[MOP]

Several of us old water rats have been on or around some of these bigger ships, they do not turn fast or stop fast. A ship that size takes about 1/4 mile to stop using full reverse, it turns in the radius of about 2-3 city blocks at slow speed but the radius of the turn increases as speed increases. The captain of the bat boat is in no way knowledgeable, it is quite obvious that he throttle up just prior to getting hit. Gee from the looks of it he maybe working for the Japanese!

[Cuda]

Like spiking trees to kill lumberjacks.......For every lumberjack that gets mangled, they ought to put one of those idiots in prison for life...maybe they could draw straws or something.
Or the other idiots that burn down SUV dealerships, destroying property and putting people out of work.
They have just about outlawed lumberjacks in Oregon. I have some uncles who have been lumberjacks for generations.

[Cuda]

Several of us old water rats have been on or around some of these bigger ships, they do not turn fast or stop fast. A ship that size takes about 1/4 mile to stop using full reverse, it turns in the radius of about 2-3 city blocks at slow speed but the radius of the turn increases as speed increases. The captain of the bat boat is in no way knowledgeable, it is quite obvious that he throttle up just prior to getting hit. Gee from the looks of it he maybe working for the Japanese!
I read that a giant oil tanker takes three miles to stop in full reverse.

[joseph m. hahnl]

As I said, I don't approve of the Japanese hunting whales, whether they call it research or not it's clear what they are doing.

But the fact remains they are not breaking the law. On the other hand, deliberately fouling the propeller and rudder of a ship IS breaking the law; it's an act of vandalism at best, terrorism at worst, and quite frankly if you're stupid enough to put yourself in that position you deserve what you get.

So I'm with you on saving the whales. But I can't offer the least bit of support for these guys' techniques.

Like George said, it's no different than spiking trees. Somebody's going to get hurt because of their actions and they need to be held accountable.

I kind of suspect that there aren't any laws in place in the middle of the ocean. That is why nothing is being done legally to prevent it. I also suspect that shooting a water cannon at some one would be illegal if there were laws out there. Not to mention that, it is quite obvious that the Japanese ship is doing illegal activities or they would not be saying they are a research vessel.I do not a agree that it is like spiking a tree .there is no similarity at all to what these people are doing. At no time has there ever been a Japanese fisherman injured in the actions. To me it is more like a crow taking on a hawk or eagle. If they become so much of a nuisance the hawk or eagle will be so busy trying to fend the crows off they don't have the time for anything else. But unfortunately for the crow the Raptors are very unforgiving when they sink there talons in . These people are not using violence to achieve there objective and to compare them to vigilantes who Mame and murder is ludicrous. I do agree that the captain of the smaller vessel was an idiot. Obviously you need to keep some what of a safe distance to keep your vessel and crew out of harms way. "seaman ship 101"!!!!!!!!!

[Cuda]

The Japanese have been hunting whales for hundreds of years. Do these guys really think they will stop them, or is it a publicity stunt put on for tv?

[kraftee]

Have any of you watched the Sea Shepherd's idiotic TV show? I mean, I am as against whaling as the next guy. Obviously, there is NO legitimate reason for the Japanese (or Russians) to kill ANY whale. And I applaud people with the gumption to stand up for their convictions.

That being said, however, what the Sea Shepherds do is annoying to the whalers at BEST and in most cases EXTREMELY dangerous to the Sea Shepherd's crew of mostly naive and inept volunteers. I mean, with the kind of basic seamanship that these guys fail to exhibit, it's amazing that one of them has not been killed taking old, faulty equipment into the Southern Ocean and then doing extraordinarily ill-advised and dangerous things once there. A collision was bound to happen sooner or later. Its a miracle that there was no one killed.

Watching Whale Wars is like a watching a train wreck. It's Reality TV at its worst. There's more infighting, petty jealousy and dangerous shenanigans going on than on "Jersey Shore"!

By the way, from what I understand, the "batboat", Ady Gill (ex-Earthrace), was donated by a California millionaire of the same name. Bob Barker actually donated $5 million to purchase a 1,200 ton ship - which was named the "Bob Barker" - and it is this ship that rescued the crewmembers of the Ady Gill.

[tmh]

Why should another boat at sea be close enough that a water cannon is a problem. Who is the aggressor?
T.M. Hayes

[gcarter]

Why should another boat at sea be close enough that a water cannon is a problem.
T.M. Hayes


Unless you're a pirate!

[gcarter]

Do these guys really think they will stop them, or is it a publicity stunt put on for tv?

It makes them feel good about themselves.
Remember, folks like this are all about images, emotions, and intentions, not results.

[Cuda]

When I first saw the show, the first thing that went through my mind was they were acting like pirates. I think the whaling boats should be allowed to mount a 50 cal machine gun, and see just how brave these idiots are.

[joseph m. hahnl]

When I first saw the show, the first thing that went through my mind was they were acting like pirates. I think the whaling boats should be allowed to mount a 50 cal machine gun, and see just how brave these idiots are.


I agree:shocking:, and they should mount a couple rocket launchers on the back of the whales and see how tough those whalers really are when the whales can shoot back. :orcawhale::fire:

better yet maybe some commando Bottle Nose Dolphins or Pilot whales that can plant magnetic bombs on the hull.:kingme:

[Schnook]

The thing I think about is that the japs have always lived off the sea, so they probably don't understand our aversion to killing whales since they eat them. They're endangered because of when we hunted them for lamp oil anyway.

[Cuda]

I agree:shocking:, and they should mount a couple rocket launchers on the back of the whales and see how tough those whalers really are when the whales can shoot back. :orcawhale::fire:

better yet maybe some commando Bottle Nose Dolphins or Pilot whales that can plant magnetic bombs on the hull.:kingme:
I'm betting on the Japs in a gunfight with the whales.