Caught the latest episode of Whale Wars last night. Who is running that ship?
The inexperience of the crew was glaringly obvious when they lost track of the RIB boat. Communication protocol should have been established and implemented prior to operations, that's a no brainier.
More interesting to me were the actions of Capt Paul Watson. He was in his cabin the entire time the RIB boat was lost. The reason given for his absences was that he had stayed up many hours fielding phone calls from the press.
Watson apparently believes that PR work is his main role. He delegates responsibility for operations to the mates, who lack the experience and skill needed. That's wrong. The captain is responsible for the safety of the ship and crew.
That ship, operating in those waters, requires good seamanship. Paul Watson is not a seaman but a public relations man. It would be more prudent to hire an experienced captain to operate the ship. Mr. Watson could then devote his full attention to his role as spokesman for his organization.
K.C.
3 comments:
I'd go further and say the captain is incompetant, its the second time i have now seen him take to the ice in an unprotected vessell, and again as the previus poster states he headed into the ice flow then went below leaving a subordinate in charge, he also walked away from previous disaters with the rib boat in earlier seasons..this guy is totally unprofessional and is going to kill some or more likely all of his crew.
Crew, do not sail with this guy...hire a real captain
I have to agree capt Kruger that he has no competence. I am a retired master as well andit hs been a long time since I sailed, But when I last sailed (early 80s) I would not have shown the self control exhibited by the japanese. I remember seeing Watson repeatedly dragging a hauser in front of the whalers with the stated intention of fouling their props. In that environment, a ship without power is a very dangerous place to be. I would therefore have viewed this type of attack as lethal. It seems wholly reaonable to take out the offending vessel. Try not to kill them, but shooting the power head on their outboards seems reasonable and proportionate.
Hi ggreat reading your blog
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