I have read many blogs on this site, many of which have a common theme of criticising the crew in really nasty, hurtful and negative terms, but after watching the last episode on Friday I have to comment as the misrepresentation of events has gone too far.
My comments are not against SSCS per se, but directed more at the way the footage has been edited. I do not know who has done it or who has the final say, but the version of events you are seeing is very skewed to the point when I was watching on Friday I could hardly recognise that I was there, as the truth had been so distorted.
Sadly the distortions you are viewing are fuelling people’s views in such a nasty and personalised way toward the crew. Whilst I can understand people’s negative views toward the crew based on what you have been shown, I can assure you the presentation you are seeing (for some reason not known to me) is so grossly unfair toward so many good people who volunteered and who tried so hard in their own ways. Yes - the crew were inexperienced (not their fault), yes - they did make mistakes out of error, yes – most of the crew were volunteers.
The great sadness is that viewers are not seeing events that negatively affected the efforts or performance of the crew. You are seeing events through the eyes of people who have been selected for some trait such as gender, looks, hair colour or eye candy for TV.
If only you knew what really happened, even the harshest of critics using this site would have a different opinion of the crew, and would be less quick to criticise them at a personal level. All I can say here is, you cant judge a book by its cover and don’t tar all people with the same brush, eg: would you like everyone to judge us as Americans by George Bush
I would like more details. I'm a person who has seriously considered signing up for a campaign and with Friday Harbor just 45 minutes plus a beautiful ferry ride away from me, I've always figured it wouldn't be all that hard for me to get aboard. Honestly, I had guessed my inexperience would lessen my chances much more than it appears it actually would.
I ask the following questions with no sense of antagonism toward the crew. Before I saw Whale Wars, I was an ardent follower of Sea Shepherd news -- but what I've seen has disturbed me to such an extent, I presently feel that it would be reckless to sail on the Steve Irwin.
Radios: At least in the televised episodes, every single time the RIBs went out, the radios failed, were turned off, or nobody called in as planned.
1. Is this accurate or are we only seeing the bad times in Whale Wars? 2. Was there any training provided in the use of the radios and phones? 3. Did the bridge crew insist on testing the radios/phones before the RIBs were dropped in the water?
Launching RIBs: 1. Did the permanent and/or experienced crew train newbies in launching the RIBs? 2. If so, describe the training and whether it began before or after departure.
Steve Irwin itself: 1. I had always assumed the ship was ice-rated. How did the crew feel about traversing ice fields in a ship that could be sunk by ice? 2. It seems like the ship is constantly breaking down -- what was your impression of its level of repair?
Midnight Launch: I can't even begin to understand the midnight launch against the spy ship while en route and on a deadline to pick up the crew who had been detained aboard the Nishin Maru 2. What were the feelings of the crew about whether this had been a good idea? Setting aside whether launching was wise or not, what was the crew's opinion on whether a search should have been started earlier?
Originally posted by foqne: I would like more details. I'm a person who has seriously considered signing up for a campaign and with Friday Harbor just 45 minutes plus a beautiful ferry ride away from me, I've always figured it wouldn't be all that hard for me to get aboard. Honestly, I had guessed my inexperience would lessen my chances much more than it appears it actually would.
I ask the following questions with no sense of antagonism toward the crew. Before I saw Whale Wars, I was an ardent follower of Sea Shepherd news -- but what I've seen has disturbed me to such an extent, I presently feel that it would be reckless to sail on the Steve Irwin.
Radios: At least in the televised episodes, every single time the RIBs went out, the radios failed, were turned off, or nobody called in as planned.
1. Is this accurate or are we only seeing the bad times in Whale Wars? 2. Was there any training provided in the use of the radios and phones? 3. Did the bridge crew insist on testing the radios/phones before the RIBs were dropped in the water?
Launching RIBs: 1. Did the permanent and/or experienced crew train newbies in launching the RIBs? 2. If so, describe the training and whether it began before or after departure.
Steve Irwin itself: 1. I had always assumed the ship was ice-rated. How did the crew feel about traversing ice fields in a ship that could be sunk by ice? 2. It seems like the ship is constantly breaking down -- what was your impression of its level of repair?
Midnight Launch: I can't even begin to understand the midnight launch against the spy ship while en route and on a deadline to pick up the crew who had been detained aboard the Nishin Maru 2. What were the feelings of the crew about whether this had been a good idea? Setting aside whether launching was wise or not, what was the crew's opinion on whether a search should have been started earlier?
You asked very good questions. I can help out with one of your questions.
The rib boat then turned over sustained damaged on-board radio, so they had to use hand held radio, which is good for short range and often stored in dry bag, hence the communication problem. Sat phone were also stored in dry bag, they were suppose to stay in contact, but I am sure in all the exciting, they forget to do so.
They have two new fast boats, and three times the safety equipment for this 2008/2009 season. That shows they are doing something and learn from their mistakes.
You should just go, they have never had a single death in their 30 years of operation.
Emanon43 - stick to what you know, which in this case, ain't a whole lot. I've got a $200 handheld, waterproof, VHF as a backup on my boat with a range of at least 25 miles. My three year old can and has operated it successfully.
Originally posted by Sea Stalker: Emanon43 - stick to what you know, which in this case, ain't a whole lot. I've got a $200 handheld, waterproof, VHF as a backup on my boat with a range of at least 25 miles. My three year old can and has operated it successfully.
Actually, I know!! I served as A Coast Guard Auxiliary for 2 years. Short range radio do have a limited range because it uses line of sight; therefore, as the little boat get far out, the harder it will be in touch with the ship. Excrew mentioned that in his other post, as well. Where do you take your boat out, the puddle in your driveway? There is a difference between ocean with icebergs, swells, and huge waves versus the little puddle that you have in the driveway.
To explain it better, the higher the antenna, the further the range the radio has. Hand held radio has very short antenna, and it is held at your arm level. That is much lower than the antenna up on top of the ship.
Originally posted by Sea Stalker: Emanon43 - stick to what you know, which in this case, ain't a whole lot. I've got a $200 handheld, waterproof, VHF as a backup on my boat with a range of at least 25 miles. My three year old can and has operated it successfully.
I copied and pasted this from wikipedia. On a small boat, it is about 9km. Hand held could will be less than that. When you buy the hand held radio, the box will tell you the range, that is in perfect assumption, but not true in real world.
Transmission power ranges between 1 and 25 watts, giving a maximum range of up to about 60 nautical miles (111 km) between aerials mounted on tall ships and hills, and 5 nautical miles (9 km) between aerials mounted on small boats at sea-level. [2] Frequency modulation is used.
Have you noticed that Jonny Vasic, who is the media ‘whatever’ at Seashepherd and was negotiated in as an consulting editor to the series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1195419/fullcredits#cast) for the last 3 episodes? This was done in order to reduce the damage to Watson (he looks better in the last 2 episodes right?) and to allow AP to go on board for a second series. He even shows up in episode 5 while not having been onboard at all during this campaign. How about that as in positioning yourself, all for the whales right?
By the way, nobody likes Jonny Vasic. Even Watson despises him (and his wife who is also working for SS). But if you can use him now and he's on your payroll...
The great sadness is that viewers are not seeing events that negatively affected the efforts or performance of the crew. You are seeing events through the eyes of people who have been selected for some trait such as gender, looks, hair colour or eye candy for TV.
With or without a rodent's booty in its face, the Oracle couldn't have written this better. From my perspective, I'll add some additional content to what you've got started because it is more than unfortunate that such a distorted image is being set in the public's mind. Any effort to shed more accurate light on what's become such a volatile subject would certainly be a benefit to all.
All television programs today are built upon "characters." Well spoken, and visual it's true but it's not just their "traits" that make them "stars," it's the events that shape those characters and it's politics.
Take this for example...
The Irwin's first boson SHOULD have been a major player in the first five episodes. The events that shaped his character were equal to or better than the helicopter pilot Chris Aultman. The boson was one of four people capsized in an unnecessary and stupid accident... he and the boson's mate spent sleepless nights herding icebergs past the Steve Irwin's thin-walled hull... his expertise in driving the Delta made the first butyric acid/methyl cellulose attack and the SAFE boarding successful.... and it was his skilled boat handling that delivered a SECOND SUCCESSFUL attack on the Yushin Maru No 2 during the misrepresented "night attack."
The boson's character came into play when the Delta scared the infamous "spy ship" off the Steve Irwin's tail. In spite of that pretty stellar resume, the light of his star was turned down quite a bit in the aired version of the show. That's where the politics come in. The boson, along with Mel, Kim McCoy and the majority of the crew didn't buy in and sign right up for the attack intended to destroy or disable the "spy ship's" communications gear. Bad mark number one...
The first mate, and personal friend of Paul Watson, had personal issues with the boson and constantly tried to knock heads with him, especially after the capsize "accident" which he had a major hand in...pardon the pun. That tension and making the "wrong" decision on the second night attack got the boson a second bad mark and got his name removed from the "Friends of Sea Shepherd" list, and the "major character" list of the show...(I'm sure he'd rather have it this way...)
There is one other issue that comes into play on this "documentary" program. The people who put this show together weren't on the ship, nor were they guided by anyone with direct connection with the events. Skilled at "making reality" the story producers and editors - plural - looked for sequences that had a beginning, middle and an end, then strung those together into a chain that would be acceptable to the people and image of Sea Shepherd and to the standards-and-practices people at Discovery, Animal Planet.
Oh there were tons of great stories that were captured. Stories that clearly illustrated the utter lack of safety and training on board but, since no one was killed or hurt (a story "end," the beginning and middle were tossed in to cut off bin.) How tragic was Shannon's injury? That surely was an "end," and so here too stands the specter of politics. The more the "accident" story is developed, the worse it would look for Sea Shepherd. After episode six, no one knows Shannon was laid up for the bulk of the "cruise."
So yes,If only people knew what really happened, even the harshest of critics using this site would have a different opinion of the events and the crew, and would be less quick to criticize at a personal level.
Emanon, CG auxillary? LMAO, dude, I've been around the world 3x, San Diego to Clipperton 2x, Revillagigedos more times than I care to count, Guadalupe, Panama, Galapagos, shall I go on? I had my engineers ticket at 19, masters at 22. Held a under 100 gross till I was 30. I've probably forgotten more about seamanship, navigation, and shipboard communications than you'll ever learn. BTW current boat is 42' Radovich custom sportfisher, 1200 mi range, puddle in my driveway is S.D. harbor
Television credits are as easy to get as gum balls out of a candy machine, or "police badges" for Sea shepherd uniforms. Jonny Vasic is the head of the Sea Shepherd media machine and he was an original co-executive producer on the Whale Wars series. (You'll note there are a LOT of those co-EP's listed. It's said, "success has many fathers while failure is an orphan." In the television industry, everyone wants to be associated in some way with this show...)
As the SS media head, Jonny can get the ceremonious title because he's the head of the SS media group. Production company owners always take the Executive Producer credit even though they do nothing creative or otherwise with a show/series...it's their company, they can do what they want. (Plus it looks soooooo good dropping that title around at parties and galas!)
The skinny I have on the Whale Wars series is that the original production company was waaaaaay in over their head on this program. Their experience is mainly in producing stiff, How-To programs for networks like Home and Garden TV and Do It Yourself, etc.
Story has it they sent five people from their own production staff out to shoot the show but they came apart at the seams. They didn't like each other much and their skills weren't that good! (Imagine that! It's just plain crazy!)
When the Steve Irwin came back to port over the Christmas/New Year's holiday to fix the first blown engine, three dysfunctional crew members were recalled by their employer, leaving two of the original company crew, plus the freelance producer & camera guy they hired out of Washington DC. They were joined by three new production crew members from Tazmania - just at the same time the Steve Irwin was picking up the second of their three volunteer crews.
After the fun and excitement of the January leg of the "Operation Migaloo" campaign, it was not certain if the Steve Irwin would be able to head back out again - funding for fuel and gathering the third group of volunteers seemed an uncertainty. Because the network deadline for having the series edited and approved was looming, all the production crew left the ship except for two - a camera guy and a sound woman. They stayed on with the Steve Irwin teaming with the ship's own cameraman when it did sail again in early February.
Meanwhile, the video tapes were sent to the original production company where they started to "craft" Whale Wars. Unfortunately for them, their initial cut of the program was not very well received by Animal Planet, and that proved to be the last straw. All the tapes and documents were sent to Los Angeles where a new company, versed in the "art" of creating "reality programs" took over. It is the work of this group that we see every Friday evening. The timing of Jonny's entry as a "producer" of the last three episodes coincides with the up-tick in ratings on the series second episode. Episode one's ratings were not very strong, in spite of the massive ad campaign Animal Plant unleashed leading up to the show's premier. After seeing the uptick after the action-packed second episode, Jonny no doubt, wanted his name to join the ranks of the series "fathers" so added the title and probably just sat in the edit bays and watched and editors cut the last three episodes together.
Your final statement is quite correct - there's no lack of Jonny bashing out on the ship. Strangely, that bashing turns to warm friendliness when everyone's back together on dry land......
Emanon, don't let these bubbas get you down. If you haven't figured it out by now, most are probably Greenpeace affiliates who have a vindetta against Captain Watson. Whether they like the show or not comes under the heading "big whoopee". Greenpeace has been totally and completely ineffective, just like the IWC. Watson is the only person willing to try to make a difference and I thank Animal Planet for bringing Whale Wars to the forefront.
Originally posted by Animal Fan: Emanon, don't let these bubbas get you down. If you haven't figured it out by now, most are probably Greenpeace affiliates who have a vindetta against Captain Watson. Whether they like the show or not comes under the heading "big whoopee". Greenpeace has been totally and completely ineffective, just like the IWC. Watson is the only person willing to try to make a difference and I thank Animal Planet for bringing Whale Wars to the forefront.
Excrew... I am a licensed merchant mariner (engineer, steam and diesel, unlimited horsepower). I have also qualified Officer of the Deck in the Coast Guard. I have a healthy respect for the sea. My comments about the crew are not meant as personal attacks but an astonishing reaction to the general perception of the ease of basic tasks at sea. Realizing that the crew is nearly entirely volunteer would make the requirement that the senior officers be highly qualified that much more important. To watch the 1st mate continously jeapordize life and limb, and finally injure himself purely out of lack of knowledge and respect for the forces involved, makes my blood run cold. God forbid something worse would happen, but at the very minimum the crew should be conducting daily boat drills. The should have a specific and detailed watch bill for launching the boats. There should be an assigned person for each position, not what appears to be a bunch of folks pushing and pulling line (and you cant push a rope!) The crew will make mistakes, but those mistakes have to be in controled situations not places where staff can break thumbs and incur potentially life threatening hib injuries.
I would like to know what really happened. I would also like to see the senior officers show their seamanship skills. I would like to see something as simple as a boat launch done properly. I would like to see a fire drill. I would like to see a man overboard drill. I would like to see the expereince of life at see that Mr Watson presumably has passed to his new crew, so that they may come away from their experiences with a respectr for the sea and not just a ignorant thought that ships float, move and can operate in hostile environments with little or no effort.
