'Whale Wars' on Animal Planet HD - Page 34

I can't believe how they wasted such an expensive ship, and wreck it so fast!

Then they decide to pollute the ocean by sinking it without trying to repair it.

They are utter morons!

Yes, it is definitely a shame such a uniquely capable craft was lost so quickly and needlessly. The Bob Barker has also turned out to be somewhat of a dud in not being able to move as fast as was expected when they decided to add it to the fleet. Maybe that will change by later installments to the season, but I have an uneasy feeling that the SS (as poorly experienced as they are) just plainly got snookered in assessing if the hardware would do the job.

I'm pretty sure the Japanese wrecked it.

What are they going to repair it with, Superglue?

Giving what they have and what their up against there really isn't much else they can do. The JP's were very well prepared for this season and it kind of caught them by surprise. There is no doubt they will need a new strategy for next season if there is one but I give them all the credit in the world for still trying.

Strategy #1: Don't leave your assets sitting out in the water on the last gallon of fuel, while still surrounded by the enemy.

Strategy #2: If a 1000 ton ship enters your proximity, do NOT continue a path across its vector of travel. Rotate to point away from the approaching ship and keep a safe distance.

Anyone notice the captain of the bob barker saying I don't want anyone to risk their life trying to board a whaling ship, or something like that? You have Watson saying he doesn't want people not willing to risk their lives. Then we have the pilot talking about going back to fix the helicopter, yet the number one mission is to stop whaling. So the helicopter to him takes precedence over saving whales since in his mind its needed.

No chopper = 12 mile radius of observation via RADAR

With chopper = 70+ mile radius

Seeing as they've been farting around outside the theatre for weeks already, the crew of the SI would probably crap their patchouli-stained pants if the "shorthair" pilot demanded a 20+ day return to port for repairs to his toy.

Two assets gone - the AG and the choppa.

Water supply on the Barker - GONE. Ah, but now they are drinking iceberg water. Alls good now.

Sabotage?

There was strategic editing during that meeting again or, the SS folks are more talk than action. When the BB captain asked who would be willing to board, how come they ALL didn't jump up in excitement to volunteer ?

Also, later when the captain and Peter were discussing things, Peter said if he does it that SS has to pay his legal expenses (and travel back to AU or NZ) and the captain said they would. Is he in a position to make that decision ?

I can see the helicopter pilots point... He can fly a LOT faster and cover a LOT more area than the boat itself can. The SI's chief engineer made his point though that returning to a port for repair would cause them to lose too much time. He'd rather "shoot in the dark" looking for the whalers, searching millions (??) of square miles of ocean. Of course, Paul "thinks" the whalers are within 200 miles of them. I think he says this to encourage the crew though, i.e. a sense of hope.

Without the helicopter their running blind and the chances of saving any whales are nil. So how do you get that perception from the pilot on what is more important?

I'll agree with you on that one but I have already noticed a feeling of demoralization within the crew and after all the setbacks who can blame them. The captains have their work cut out for them.

Sorry, but your chances of saving whales are nil if YOU ARE NOT THERE. I agreed with the guy who said leaving for 20+ days is the wrong thing to do.

Who knows if editing made them look like they are all talk, its not out of the realm of possibility. There is also the fact they knew boarding the ship could have serious consequences. Even Bethune said himself it was stupid. I also wondered if that captain had the power to say that. I did read about the sentence Bethune got and the organization did pay for everything.

But it could help impede the Japanese from whaling, so it has to be worth it. Right ?

What is the final outcome regarding Bethune and SS ? I read that they actually kicked him out because he had "weapons" (the potato gun ?) on-board a SS vessel, which is against their rules.

If you look at the Ady Gil footage right before the collision incident, you can see, just out-of-frame (incidentally or purposely so, by Animal Planet camera operator?...I dunno), one of the crew standing with spud-gun at the ready, as well. No doubt, the Jpn whaler ship sighted this as well (via binoculars), and reasonably concluded that they were staging for another assault.

Spoilers?!?

I sided with the helicopter pilot. They NEED that helicopter. And who is to say they dont have any worse chance finding a whaling ship on their way to and from port than their current course? I know I dont think so. That 20 days is actually just a few days at port where they can restock supplies as well. The engineer was very short sighted.

Cant wait for next weeks episode. Only a matter of time before this crew realized they weren't just "playing" sailor.

He got a suspended sentence.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010...uthorities.php

I do not disagree the helicopter isn't an asset. I just don't feel leaving for 3 more weeks is the right thing to do. They found the fleet in the first place from a phone call. Leaving to fix it is the same as leaving for fuel etc, it allows the whalers to do anything they want. If the 1st priority is whales, then stay where you can protect them.

If they don't really need to re-stock, that argument doesn't have much weight. If they really needed supplies and could repair the helicopter at the same time, then it's a no-brainer. And remember, they just came from port. It was the only way they knew of to lose the Japanese ship that was trailing them.

Are they in good position to stop them from whaling, No! Staying there is not doing a thing. This was a brilliant strategy by the Japanese to leave one ship to trail the SS'ers at all times and relay their position plus the fact it took out one of their biggest assets ( Ady Gil ). And by doing so the Whales are the biggest losers this season, I'm sorry to say.

Ummm, I think someone hijacked Lodef's account !!

Why? I'm just stating the obvious. Maybe if they still had the Ady Gil, it might be different but without it they are dead in the water and so are the whales unfortunately.

Nothing has changed for the whales since the inception of SS.

That is your perception. The Japanese would not be taking all these serious countermeasures if it was not affecting them in one form or another, believe me. Also more people are now aware of what the Japanese are doing to whales and are against it thanks to the SS,ers efforts. Just check out the Animal Planet's web site about Whale Wars and see what the majority of opinion is over there. That fact alone gives the SS,ers the desire to continue what their doing along with trying to save as many whales as they can during the time period they are out there.

So they swayed opinion amongst Animal Planet website followers? They were originally against the whales? Please tell me you just didn't insinuate that as proof that SS are having an impact.

I'm gonna go out on a limb to suggest that Animal Planet members were for whale conservation from the start. There was no convincing, required. What sort of responses did you think would exist there?!

Now if you really want to evaluate a tangible impact, how about you link to some Jpn culinary seafood websites where members have been overwhelmingly swayed by the program to object to Jpn whaling practices? How about that?

"Just got real bra!" Looks like the Ady Gil dude is taking that "prepared to die for the whales" thing seriously! Next week is going to be interesting when he tries to board their ship. Crazy, but kudos for being the man.

The JP crew just might shoot him. If this was off the east coast of Yemen they'd already be dead.

Man, This show should be listed under "comedy" because these idiots are joke.

ABSOLUTE MORONS

Yep! Recapping this week's comedy highlights: miscalculate the ship's oil needs/supplies, haphazardly tether two $100k zeppelin boats together, retrieve and power up a zeppelin so propellers drive into the rocks, etc. They're their own worst enemy.

Their campaign this year has been an expensive failure. I'd bet fewer donation dollars will be available in the future.

I have to ask. What sort of time restraints did that guy think he was getting involved in? Not sure why he was complaining. Were they planning on leaving the rest of the fleet earlier? The captain needed to put a stop to his complaining immediately. Instead he was a wimp about it.

Tethering the zepplin to the other didnt make sense to me. How did they not notice the boats before one was practically under water. Where was that bilge pump?

I am no boating expert. My only experience was my dad taking me out on his boat as a kid. Even I knew that boat shouldnt have been used in that shallow of water. I loved that he made an effort to explain that he was just a school teacher. This confirms my theory that most of these people, not all just want to play sailor and have no business being on a boat much less having any responsibility.

Loved captain watson blaming the crew for the zepplins getting ruined. Where was he during all of this? He just refuses to take any responsibility when it comes to actually being a captain.

There is one Japanese ship to track two SS ships. Can they not do the math here?

Loved they are going West into the storm. If they go South, they get tailed by the japanese. Did they not think of going east out of radar then south to avoid them? Or how about staying in French waters for a day and using the island to block the horrible waves of that storm, then head west.

This show just doesnt make any sense. Yet I cant stop watching.

They know how to waste all their paypal donation money.