aboard the Robert Hunter!

I arrived Sunday afternoon (Australia dating...) and am well and happy and becoming ensconsed in life aboard ship. We're docked at the Melbourne Docklands, a short walk from central Melbourne, so in many ways it's pretty easy ship life, compared to what it could be (on the high seas, that is.)

The ship is operating with a relatively small crew, so I have my own cabin, something I didn't expect. It's a fairly new vessel (build mid-70s) so the facilities are in good shape, and plenty livable even for me at 6'4".

It seems that I'll be the ship's cook very soon, when the current, extraorindarily taleneted cook, leaves the ship for another campaign. The ship's diet is entirely vegan, which is exciting. It does present a few challenges to come up with three meals a day with sufficient protein and other nourishment, but I'm looking forward to it.

The crew of both the Robert Hunter, and the Sea Shepherd's flagship vessel docked nearby, the Farley Mowat, are to a one extraordinary people. Kind, talented, and deeply commited to the cause of saving the oceans and the life of the oceans. It sounds, even to me, like a cliched fundraising pitch or promo for Sea Shepherd, but I mean every word of it. This is a truly amazing bunch of people, doing truly fantastic work. It's entirely selfless: every single person, from the founder, Captain Paul Watson, on down, is a volunteer. People have a great variety of routes, experiences, stories, and convictions that have led them to Sea Shepherd. Across the board, however, people believe in the mission and the work, and comprise an extraorindary team.

Melbourne's generousity is also extraordinary. Being in dock, we have excellent access to facilities that wouldn't normaly be available aboard ship. The very nearby YMCA allows us free access to their gym, pool, and perhaps most importantly, showers. A bit further afield, and not always with regular hours, the Seafarer's Mission provides free internet access, as well as a pool table, library, and a place to relax for free. We have fantastic donations from local and worldwide individuals, groups, and businesses, everything from food, to matériel, to the random supplies that keep a venture like Sea Shepherd running are donated, or purchased from cash donations. I won't explicitly pester anyone reading my blog to donate, but I sure do think it's a great cause!

So as of now, a lot of my work in port will consist of cooking, leading tours, standing watch at the gangplank to the ship, and generally talking about Sea Shepherd. I'll try to keep updating this page semi-regularly.