So, for those of you reading this who don’t know me, I’ll tell you briefly how I came to be sat in the lounge of the Arctic Sunrise writing a blog about being a deck hand!
I saw a job posting on the Greenpeace International website 2 years ago for a ‘volunteer crew’ position on board the Greenpeace ships; all they wanted to know was why I thought I would make a good member of the crew.
As I had sailing experience from 7 years in Sea Cadets and had been an activist and involved in Greenpeace in the UK for 2 years prior to that, I thought I’d apply…nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
I quickly forgot about the application I’d made until 6 months later, a week before my birthday, I received an email asking me if I would like to join the Greenpeace ships!
I was in the middle of preparations for first year exams at university and so I thought long and hard for about three seconds before saying “Hell yes!” and grabbing my suitcase to begin packing, and I haven’t looked back.
This is now my third trip on the ships; the first was the final voyage of Rainbow Warrior II and two on board the Arctic Sunrise. Contracts on the ships are not all glamorous and action packed, but they are just as important for the benefit of the ship and just as fun for different reasons.
This trip I am on board for a three-month maintenance period in Amsterdam. No chasing pirate fishing boats, no diving in crystal clear blue waters, no tracking shipments of illegally logged timber, just lots of deck washing, chipping rust, priming, painting and fixing, and I LOVE IT!
The Sunrise is now the oldest ship in the fleet, so as I am sure you can imagine, she needs a lot of TLC to keep her at her best.
So far, we have switched around the anchors, done some mooring operations, put the RHIBs (Rigid hulled inflatable boats) in the water and moved the Hurricane into the hold to be worked on, and grinded and painted the deck in the hold to make it look all shiny and new!
‘Pamela’ the engine is getting some TLC from the Engineers too. The best bit about maintenance periods in Amsterdam is that we get hang out with cool people from Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Netherlands.
Greenpeace in Amsterdam is like one big family, and having our lovely Dutch 2nd engineer Robin on board, we get taken to all the best places only the locals know about!
We have a great crew, and a nearly all female deck crew, which makes for a really happy bunch, even when we have to be up early or work outside in the cold all day!
Now, I better sign off, as I am the Duty deckhand and have safety rounds to do.
Until next time, sailors! Katie
If you would like to volunteer with Greenpeace in the UK, then please find your nearest local group / network on the Get Active webpage, contact the local coordinator, come to the next meeting and get involved.
Greenpeace ships regularly visit the UK and we need lots of volunteers to help out, so please volunteer locally and get involved with the next ship tour. Volunteers who prove themselves handy on board, have often sailed away, returning as experienced crew / deck hands.
Greenpeace vounteers who have been active locally for at least 6 months, can attend a non violent direct action training course, and if suitable take part in a wider range of Greenpeace activities. Sometimes these activities involve ships and boats, and this is a good way to get on board a Greenpeace ship and to prove yourself as a handy potential crew member / deck hand.
Finally if you have relevant nautical qualifictions, or if you are feeling lucky then you can apply to volunteer on board a Greenpeace ship via the international website. A lot of people apply to volunteer on board this way, but if you are the right person, in the right place and the right time then this can be a good way to get the experience as a crew member / deck hand.
So if you've ever dreamed of joining a Greenpeace ship, it is possible with the right mix of skills, luck, enthusiasm, patience and ideally some experience of campaigning locally / NVDA. We need your help so please get involved.
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