Update from the Farley Mowat - Captain Paul Watson

I have been campaigning against the Canadian seal slaughter since 1975 but never have I seen such a circus as my crew and I witnessed today.

It all began when the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen began to gather up sealing vessels like a mother hen guarding her brood.

These were the sealers who had been pleading for two days to be taken out of the ice.

They began congregating around noon and by 1600 Hours they were ready to be moved out. The Coast Guard had announced that they would escort sealers out of the pack ice.

The Amundsen passed close alongside the starboard side of the Farley Mowat with a string of ten sealing vessels following.

Each one of them passed close alongside as the sealers shook their fists, screamed obscenities, and made rude gestures. The crew of the Farley Mowat just smiled and waved at them.

The first vessel in line was the Wally and Sisters, the second was Lady Jennifer II, followed by the Morning Rose. The fourth vessel was Ryan's Pride followed by the fifth vessel, the Gulf Venture. The sixth vessel was the L.J Kennedy. The seventh vessel was the R&D Endurance followed by a boat with an obscure name. The ninth vessel was the Lady Madge, followed by the last sealer the Cape Ashley.

On board the L.J. Kennedy was one rather strange lad who thought it was funny to drop his pants and underwear and masturbate as he made rude remarks to our female crewmembers. The crew of the Farley Mowat filmed the entire procession of boats, gestures, name-calling, and bizarre public masturbation displays. The boys from Newfoundland certainly did their province proud.

The Farley Mowat joined in behind and we were at the end of this line-up, with the Amundsen in the front and the sealers in between. A little down the line, two more sealers were picked up and a line-up of fourteen vessels was making its way in a convoy through the ice pack.

It was twenty miles to open water and the ice got progressively thicker. Four sealing vessels in front of the Farley Mowat became stuck and prevented the Farley Mowat from passing. The Amundsencarried on leaving four sealing vessels and one seal-defending ship in the ice.

The Amundsen promised to return in the morning. Needless to say, the crew of the Farley Mowatdoubled the watch to keep an eye on the sealers throughout the night.

Most of the sealers were unable to move far throughout the day and the radio was full of their lamenting about lack of seals or their inability to reach the seals. It appears as if the sealers have had a miserable week which is good news for the seals and for us.