Whale Wars: Season Finale

08/25/2009

The Battle Rages

Were you holding your breath waiting to see what the Sea Shepherds did next, after the last episode's intensity? Thinking of that fourth whale, the one who fought so hard after being shot, you had to hope the Steve Irwin's crew could at least prevent the poor creature from being processed by the factory ship.

And sure enough, Capt. Paul Watson's plan was bold: take the Steve Irwin between the Nisshin Maru and the harpoon vessel, to sever the line holding the slain whale. Staying just behind the ship, with the slipway in view, it's a prefect ploy to foil the transfer. But when Paul steps away to do a phone interview, second mate Pedro Monterio takes over and mistakenly steers the Steve Irwin ahead of the factory ship. With the roles suddenly reversed, the Nisshin Maru was on a collision course, a FAST one, toward the Steve Irwin. A warning? Would the Japanese whalers really have collided with the Sea Shepherds? The bow of the Nisshin Maru hovered dangerously close to the Steve Irwin before skimming away.

It was a sign of things to come. Paul's second try, to ward off the Yushin #3's attempt to transfer the whale worked to perfection, forcing the harpoon vessel to make a U-turn for another round. This time, the Sea Shepherds had a throwing crew on deck, lobbing butyric acid at the whalers--who were throwing BACK! 

Point of Impact

Then the hit, a shuddering blast as the Yushin tries to cut ahead of the Steve Irwin. The impact has crew members holding fast to anything that's not moving--and big props to the camera operators, who kept their cool and kept rolling. The point of impact was the Steve Irwin's anchor box, the sturdiest point possible. There WAS damage, with water gushing in, but the ship remained on track.

Despite the collision, despite the efforts and risks taken by the Sea Shepherds, the harpoon ship still managed to transfer the whale to the Nisshin Maru.  The defeat feels crushing. And now fuel is running low, resources dwindling. The Steve Irwin must head home. Just off the bow, a pod of whales swims along, a living reminder of the crew's purpose: keeping the whalers from harvesting their quota. Even with all the frustrations, that HAS been accomplished.

But the collision is controversial, making news as the Japanese accuse the Sea Shepherds of intentionally endangering the whalers. Because of this, the Australian authorities would investigate the incident, and awaited the crew upon its return home.

With This Ring

But first, a wedding at sea: Molly Kendall and Andrew Perry ask Paul to perform their wedding ceremony. With bride, groom, minister and witnesses ferried over by helicopter, the wedding takes place on stark, ice-crusted Scott Island. Molly and Andrew--who shaved his beard for the occasion!--exchange vows and wear rings fashioned from a fork and spoon. A friend of the Mole's, who edits a bridal magazine, would surely blink at the wedding party's attire: those bulky orange mustang suits, made to weather the cold and high seas. But smiles and joy follow the couple and the rest of the crew all the way back to port.

The lightheartedness lingers till the Steve Irwin docks,with the Australian Federal Police immediately detaining crew members, seizing records, computers, questioning everyone, shutting down the cameras. This brings down the happy homecoming mood.

Another Day, Another Mission

And yet, no charges were filed, and six months later, still have not been filed. As Paul said last week, the Sea Shepherds are not doing anything illegal. And the Sea Shepherds, armed with new ideas, will return to the Antarctic waters in hopes of shutting down the slaughter of whales.