Many of the crew of the Farley Mowat did not have much time to rest before flying from Australia to Bermuda to join other Sea Shepherd volunteers onboard the Sea Shepherd ship Farley Mowat.

From Icebergs at the bottom of the world to ice floes in the far north, Sea Shepherd crew cannot be accused of fair weather campaigning.

"I haven't seen summer in a long long time," said Amber Paarman 24 from South Africa.

The Farley Mowat with a crew of 19 departed from Dockland in Bermuda at 1700 Hours on March 24th, bound north for the Gulf of St. Lawrence to enter the ice field nurseries where Canada intends to slaughter 325,000 seal pups.

It will only take a few days for the ship to reach the Cabot Strait. Canada has warned the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to not enter Canadian waters. However the ship has the right of passage through waters outside of the 12 mile limit. The ship will not be entering within the 12 mile limit. Most of the seals are slaughtered outside of 12 miles.

Crewmembers have joined the ship from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Ecuador and the Netherlands.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has opposed the slaughter of seals since 1977 and has sent a ship into the ice to protect seals in 1979, 1981, 1983, 1998 and 2005. The Society sent crew to the ice in other years by helicopter and has been steadfast in its opposition for over three decades. The slaughter was shut down in 1984 until 1994 and then resumed in 1995.

The Farley Mowat Departs from Dockyard in  Bermuda on March 24th, 2008 on the way  to protect harp seals in Eastern Canada

Amber Paarman from South Africa casts off the  stern ropes on the Farley Mowat and prepares  to head North to Canada