Alex, Deckhand (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Alex is a deckhand onboard. He’s British. Very British. In fact he sounds suspiciously like one of the Famous Five. Alex likes classical music, the colour scarlet and welcoming people on board the ship during open days.

“I like people who are enthusiastic and interested.” Working for Greenpeace was always an aspiration. ” I used to work in the UK as project manager for Cafe; Direct, one of the world’s biggest fair trade brands. And I had always pictured myself getting married and having children. When this didn’t happen by the time I was 30, I suddenly felt quite free and let it all go and went to sea. ”

After working on private yachts for a while, he found a way to mix sailing with some of the issue-based campaigning he’d been doing before. “Greenpeace was perfect for this.” Read more »

Meet Babu - Cook aboard the Rainbow Warrior (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

It’s one thing to chef on terra firma. It’s quite another to chef on a rocking, moving ship; especially when you’ve got environmental campaigners and activists planning planet-saving antics over lunch! But that’s what chef Babu Pallai loves about working on the Rainbow Warrior. “I’ve only been with Greenpeace for four months, but it’s a different world. The people who come onboard are always friendly, and they care about nature and a peaceful future.” Read more »

Kathy, on board communications officer (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

My name’s Kathy, and I’m the on board communications officer for the Rainbow Warrior tour. Normally I fulfil said officer’s role in the Auckland office. (I keep meaning to get to the bottom of who gave us the curious “officer” title. I sometimes wonder if I should be bullet-proof and in blue).

I am also submitting most of the blog postings from the ship, when I’m not face down in the toilet.

I came to Greenpeace in April last year, so I’m quite new. Also, my background is not a typical one for a Greenpeace convert (which I am).

Before Greenpeace, I did university degrees in law and theatre, completed a post graduate diploma in journalism in Wellington, worked as a reporter at the Westport News, was a press secretary for a government minister, and produced Morning Report on Radio New Zealand. All the while I was composting and recycling and wearing flowers in my hair, but I certainly wouldn’t call myself a greenie, hippie or activist. But when I heard of the job going at Greenpeace, I didn’t think twice about quitting daily current affairs and joining the good fight. Read more »

Meet Susannah (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Hi, I’m Susannah, a climate campaigner at the Greenpeace NZ office and a campaigner on board the Rainbow Warrior for the 6-week tour.

Kathy has asked me to write my own profile. I protested that I wouldn’t be able to write things to make myself look good without sounding like an idiot. She says it’s not my job to look good, but rather to take any opportunity I can to bang on about the campaign. So here we go….

I started working at Greenpeace mid 2007, soon after completing a post-grad in Development Studies. My studies got me thinking more and more about the true meaning of “development” and questioning the assumptions behind “sustainable development” models. I came to climate change from a social justice perspective, concerned by the injustices of climate change: while the developed world has been the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution, its impacts are felt more severely in developing countries. Read more »

Pep - Chief Mate (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Pep (real name Jose) is from Spain. He has been alive for 42 years. He is Chief Mate onboard the Rainbow Warrior but has captained many other ships.

Pep would only talk to me about the last six years of his life, so I cannot vouch for pre-2002. For all we know he could have been a magician. But what I can say is that he’s a favourite among the campaign team, such is his dry wit and biting humour.

He joined Greenpeace in 2002 when Greenpeace Spain owned and ran a 20-metre sleuth ship (the Zorba) as an educational charter project. Supporters of the organisation could pay to take 15-day trips on the ship around the Spanish coast and learn about the ecology and environmental of the area. The crew consisted of captain, a teacher, two deckhands and a chef, and there were two crews who swapped over every 15 days. It was an excellent project, according to Pep, and he was sad to see it discontinued in 2003. The other captain who’d been working on the Zorba project said “why not go and work on the bigger Greenpeace ships?” which is how he ended up doing ongoing work with the organisation. Read more »

Carmen - Campaign manager (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Carmen (otherwise known as Nautical Goddess) is a very experienced campaigner, having spent 12 years volunteering and working with Greenpeace , in various roles. I asked her to start from the beginning.

“When I was in high school I set up an environmental group and we were sent a message about a youth conference being run by Greenpeace in Wellington. It was during the time of French nuclear testing and about 60 secondary school kids from around the country met to learn about campaigning. She was transfixed (and not just by the campaigning spiel, but more on this later).

The following year, Carmen began university in Auckland, studying environmental science. And she began volunteering in the Greenpeace office; “doing anything I could do really.” But before long, she was doing most of her volunteer work in the actions division. After a couple of years she became Greenpeace New Zealand’s Action Coordinator. Read more »

Kristin - Deckhand (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Kristin, is 35, born and bred in Gisborne, and a deckhand on board. He is actually very overqualified, having trained and worked as an aircraft engineer for 10 years after leaving school.

He has “travelled heaps” and over the years began take more interest in environmental issues, gradually discovering that his occupation conflicted with his beliefs. He eventually left engineering and went back to uni to study human geography, so he could “become a bit more educated about how the world works”. Read more »

GRENPEACE / Sharomov

Maite (pronounced MY-TAY) is my cabin mate. She’s also a deckhand and she is always smiling. When I sat down to talk to her, I could have sat there forever. She is 100 per cent interesting. She’s from Spain. Formerly “many things” (including a lawyer and an English teacher), she has been sailing all her life, and volunteering with Greenpeace for 11 years. This is her seventh trip to sea with Greenpeace. She’s worked on all three of the Greenpeace ships (Rainbow Warrior, Arctic Sunrise and Esperanza), but the Rainbow Warrior is her favourite. “I love everything about it. I have been sailing for so m any years, but there is something special about this ship. There is a kind of warmth about it that you don’t get on other ships.” Read more »

Tapio - Chief engineer (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

NAME: Tapio

AGE: 61

NATIONALITY: Finnish

TITLE/JOB ONBOARD: Chief engineer

BACKGROUND

Ship building , ship repair dry dock , Commercial ships, Fair trade works .

WHY DO YOU WORK FOR GREENPEACE?

Drifted in from: Fair Trade and from peace movement.

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The ship’s engine (C) GREENPEACE / Sharomov

Joris is Dutch and an engineer onboard the Rainbow Warrior.

“I used to work on merchant navy ships, and at power plants. But that was too boring, and I always was curious how it would be to work for Greenpeace, so I applied for the job and now I am here.”

He prefers life on board Greenpeace ships. “The social life is much better than on merchant navy ships.”

Joris says the climate campaign is very important, particularly given the urgency of the issue. “I hope it makes people think and act.”