A fictional short story based on the words and life of Captain Paul Watson. A new captivating episode every Friday.
The night was clear, icy - the sky as black as the water below us, speckled with stars that hung far too peacefully over the raging sea. The Whales Forever cut through the dark waves, her hull creaking softly, as if the ship was also feeling the tension that was settling on our skin like frost.
I stood at the railing, my fingers numb from the wind, my thoughts as sharp as the cold around me. Tonight the whales' fate would change. Tonight we would strike.
The Norwegian harbour lay before us - a sleeping nest full of murderers.
The whaling ships lay peacefully moored there, unaware that their last hour had come. Their decks glowed faintly in the light of the harbour lanterns, which made their outlines look like huge, lurking beasts. But today the hunters would become the hunted.
I turned round and looked into the eyes of my crew. Determination. No hesitation. No doubt. We all knew that if we made a mistake, it was over.
"Let's go," I whispered. And the shadows glided across the water.
The inflatable boats glided almost silently through the darkness. Every row was perfectly timed, every movement coordinated. I could hear my own heart beating, felt the adrenaline electrifying me. We were ghosts in the water, silent avengers, hidden in the fog of the sea.
With every metre we got closer to the harbour, I felt the tension in my chest grow. The harbour wall loomed in front of us - a dark giant that offered us one last bit of protection before we ventured into the belly of the enemy.
We grabbed the ropes and pulled ourselves up on the wet stones. One false step, one damn sound - and we were finished. I felt my hands sliding along the cold metal of the harbour bridge, my legs tense, ready to jump.
Then I was upstairs. All of us. And in front of us - the Nybrænna.
My heartbeat accelerated.
The Nybrænna was a black shadow, a weapon of steel that took the lives of the gentle giants of the seas. I felt the disgust in my stomach, but I didn't let it, only let the coldness of determination grow inside me.
We scurried across the deck like predators, huddling in the shadows as the night swallowed us up. The wind howled softly through the ropes of the rigging, the only sound travelling across the ship. The crew were asleep. We had our chance.
We opened the valves with quick hands. A creaking sound. I held my breath. My team moved quickly and efficiently - every move was perfect. Then the water began to flow.
Slowly, inexorably, it crept into the Nybrænna's belly.
'Come on now,' I hissed. We had to get out of here before someone woke up.
But then - a noise.
A door squeaked. I wheeled round, my hand on my belt, where I felt nothing but my own knife. Footsteps. Someone was awake.
My heart was racing.
The seconds stretched into eternity. We sank into the shadows, pressed against the cold metal. The footsteps came closer. I felt my crew holding their breath, felt the icy sweat on my forehead.
Then - silence.
Only the wind. The soft roar of the incoming water. The gentle sound of death for this ship.
The footsteps moved away.
He hadn't noticed anything.
I gave a tiny sign - Go! Now!
We moved as quickly and quietly as possible back to the boats. The water filled the hull of the Nybrænna with merciless efficiency. I could feel the ship beginning to lean, slowly, like a dying animal collapsing under its own weight.
We had made it.
But we were not yet safe.
When we reached the rubber dinghies, a loud bang suddenly sounded behind us. Then shouts.
They had noticed it.
Lights flashed on. The silence of the night shattered into a chaos of voices and hurried footsteps. I saw men rushing onto the deck, onto the slowly tilting ship. An alarm shrilled through the night.
"RUDERN!" I shouted.
The engines were switched off - noise was our enemy. We paddled like madmen while chaos broke out behind us. I could hear the Norwegian harbour guards shouting, could see torches cutting through the night.
And then, a rumbling crash.
The Nybrænna gave way.
With a final, agonised groan, she leaned to one side. Metal burst under the pressure of the water. And then - a deep, gurgling sound as the sea took the ship.
Seconds later - only silence.
The Nybrænna was gone.
We rowed back to Whales Forever with the last of our strength. Every breath was a fight against the fear of being discovered. But the harbour lights became smaller. The alarm grew fainter.
And then we were out on the open sea.
I looked round. My crew. Sweaty, exhausted, but with shining eyes. A quiet smile flitted across my face.
"We made it," I whispered.
"No," said one of my men, looking towards the horizon. "The whales have made it."
I turned round and saw dawn creeping over the water. The sea was calm. And in the distance - almost as a sign - a whale leapt out of the water, its mighty silhouette black against the glowing red sky.
Yes.
This night belonged to the whales.
The next morning, the world was in turmoil.
"Four whaling ships sunk!"
"Sabotage in Norwegian harbour - who is behind it?"
"War at sea: environmental activists or criminals?"
Norway raged. The international media went into overdrive. But it didn't matter. We had done it. And nothing would stop us.
The oceans did not belong to the murderers.
That night we had given them back to the whales.
And we weren't finished yet.
1 Confessions of an Eco-Terrorist - documentary film (2011), 1 Sea Shepherd exposes commercial whaling of critically endangered fin whales in Iceland, https://news.cision.com/de/sea-shepherd-global/r/sea-shepherd-entlarvt-kommerziellen-walfang-stark-gefahrdeter-finnwale-in-island%2Cc2567076 Accessed on 12.2.2025 2 Neptune's Navy - In the fight for the whales, https://www.scinexx.de/dossierartikel/neptuns-navy-im-kampf-fuer-die-wale/ Accessed on 12.2.2025 3 YouTube: Sea Shepherd in action, https://youtu.be/Rj-4YliiwvI Accessed on 12.2.2025 4 YouTube: The fight against the whalers https://youtu.be/kSPHFwanCPQ Accessed on 12.2.2025 5 Indymedia: Report on sabotage actions against whaling ships, https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/448763.html Accessed on 12.2.2025 6 Wikipedia: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Shepherd_Conservation_Society Accessed on 12.2.2025 7 Campus Verlag: Reading sample on the history of Sea Shepherd, https://www.campus.de/uploads/tx_campus/leseproben/9783593506715.pdf Accessed on 12.2.2025 8 Sea Shepherd Germany: Whale protection campaigns in the Southern Ocean, https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/walschutzkampagnen-im-sudpolarmeer/ Accessed on 12.2.2025 9 Sea Shepherd Global - Throwback to the 1992 sabotage actions, https://www.facebook.com/seashepherdglobal/posts/throwbackthursday-on-26-december-1992-after-months-of-surveillance-captain-paul-/10157313042443259/ Accessed on 12.2.2025 10 Sea Shepherd Store - Article about historical actions, https://www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdStore/photos/a.1477656525828520/2825324871061672/?type=3 Accessed on 12.2.2025 11 Fandom: Sea Shepherd's ship Whales Forever, https://seashepherd.fandom.com/wiki/MY_Whales_Forever Accessed on 12.2.2025 12 Barrons: Paul Watson - Eco Warrior on the High Seas, https://www.barrons.com/articles/paul-watson-eco-warrior-on-the-high-seas-9c3f8245 Accessed on 12.2.2025 13 Spiegel: This is a real war, https://www.spiegel.de/politik/dies-ist-ein-richtiger-krieg-a-a3bcfe9c-0002-0001-0000-000013682885 Accessed on 12.2.2025 [/footnote]https://youtu.be/7X7TfMY3g7g Accessed 19.2.2025[/footnote] 14 Greenpeace: Japan hunts whales in whale sanctuary, https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/meere/fischerei/japan-jagt-wale-walschutzgebiet Accessed on 19.2.2025 15 Japan Times: First commercial fin whale catches in 48 years (2024), https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/11/japan/commercial-fin-whale-catch/ Accessed on 19.2.202516Paul Watson: The Whale Warrior - A Pirate for the Sea, YouTube documentary, https://youtu.be/Fm2kMu8Jrs4 Accessed on 19.2.2025 17Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson - Documentary, YouTube documentary, https://youtu.be/dfWvncY1_ww Accessed on 19.2.2025 18Paul Watson - Protector of the Oceans | ARTE Doku, ARTE-Dokumentation, https://youtu.be/2fVJyAE3J0M Accessed on 19.2.2025 19Sea Shepherd Concludes Operation, 07 Apr, 2016, https://www.seashepherd.ch/de-ch/news-events-chde/sea_shepherd_concludes_operation_driftnet-3/ Accessed on 19.2.2025 20International Court of Justice Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic, 31/03/2014, Dead minke whales on the Japanese coast https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html accessed on 19.2.2025 21France24. (2024). Japan asks Denmark to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson [Article]. Available at: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240801-japan-asks-denmark-to-extradite-anti-whaling-activist-paul-watson Accessed on 7 December 2024 22n-tv. (2024). Whaling opponent Paul Watson still imprisoned. Available at: https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Walfang-Gegner-Paul-Watson-noch-immer-in-Groenland-inhaftiert-FreePaulWatson-setzt-sich-fuer-Freilassung-ein-article25173640.html Accessed on 7 December 2024 23YouTube. (2023). Paul Watson: The Whale Warrior - A Pirate for the Sea [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/Fm2kMu8Jrs4 Accessed on 7 December 2024 24YouTube. (2023). Eco Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson - Documentary [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/dfWvnc,,Y1_ww Accessed on 7 December 2024 25ARTE. (2023). Paul Watson - Protector of the Oceans | Documentary HD | ARTE [Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/2fVJyAE3J0M Accessed on 7 December 2024 26Frankfurter Allgemeine. (2014). International Court of Justice: Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic. Available at: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html Accessed on 7 December 2024 27Sea Shepherd Germany. (2024). Campaigns in the Faroe Islands - Sea Shepherd. Available at: https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln Accessed on 7 December 2024 28YouTube, 15 YEARS LIABILITY for ANIMAL PROTECTORS?! Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson arrested | Robert Marc Lehmann from 20.08.202. Available at: https://youtu.be/qY4vM2tVSsk?t=75 Accessed on 2.12.2024 29YouTube. Joel V, CONFESS OF ECO TERRORIST 1. available at: https://youtu.be/7X7TfMY3g7g Accessed on 2.12.2024 30YouTube. Information Archive, Eco Pirate The Story Of Paul Watson - Documentary - 2011. available at: https://youtu.be/dfWvncY1_ww Accessed on 2.12.2024 31YouTube., INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE de Paul Watson - #QuelleEpoque 21 décembre 2024. available at: https://youtu.be/oFvN45XcRMk Accessed on 2 January 2025 32YouTube. Vakita, Paul Watson : l'interview en prison avec Hugo Clément from 09.12.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/G7MKZovUp1s Accessed on 2 January 2025 33YouTube. Greenpeace: Pioneers of Environmental Activism | SLICE EARTH | FULL DOC from 04.05.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/Pc28_flxAtg Accessed on 1 December 2024 34YouTube. A Decade of Change - Greenpeace in the 1970s [Documentary]uploaded on 16.12.2011. Available at: https://youtu.be/h5GUl7ZGwyk Accessed on 1 December 2024 35YouTube. Paul Watson The Whale Warrior A Pirate for the Sea. Available at: https://youtu.be/Fm2kMu8Jrs4b Accessed on 1 December 2024 36YouTube. Capt Paul Watson: Guardian of the Seas 1/2 Available at: https://youtu.be/PQdBjMHbDTc Accessed on 1 December 2024 37YouTube. Am Ende der Welt (2010) [Documentary] | Film (German). Available at: https://youtu.be/U1J58njPuAI Accessed on 1 December 2024 38YouTube. Weber State University, Paul Watson - "Sea Shepherd's Mission: Conservation". Available at: https://youtu.be/rQBnAs2aAN0 Accessed on 1 December 2024 39YouTube. TEDx Talks, TEDxSF - Captain Paul Watson - 4/27/10. available at: https://youtu.be/Y0XOx_UVRPo Accessed on 1 December 2024 40YouTube. TEDx Talks, If our oceans die, we die | Captain Paul Watson | TEDxNoosa from 25 June 2015. Available at: https://youtu.be/Bwgx9DaiE2g Accessed on 5 January 2025 41YouTube. Whale Wars - Confessions of an Eco Terrorist 1, 2011 Available at: https://youtu.be/7X7TfMY3g7g Accessed on 26 November 2024 42YouTube, Sharkwater - When sharks die. Available at: https://youtu.be/7LE3JHUPRJA Accessed on 30/06/2023 43YouTube. ARTEde, Paul Watson - Schützer der Meere | Doku HD | ARTE from 28.9.2024. Available at: https://youtu.be/2fVJyAE3J0M Accessed on 24 November 2024 44YouTube. Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Paul Watson: Exclusive Interview with Wild Actual from Anstalten Prison, Greenland. Available at: https://youtu.be/XX63OOV1moA Accessed on 23 November 2024 45Nachrichten.fr, Paul Watson still in custody: Agnès Pannier-Runacher demands release of the whale protector, 25.10.2024, https://nachrichten.fr/paul-watson-weiterhin-in-haft-agnes-pannier-runacher-fordert-freilassung-des-walschuetzers/ 46Martin Fritz, Sea Shepherd founder - Free Paul Watson, taz, 17.10.2024, https://taz.de/Sea-Shepherd-Gruender/%216040251/ 47Rolf Arndt, Activist Paul Watson still imprisoned, Activist Paul Watson still imprisoned, Dänische Allgemeine Zeitung, 2 October 2024, https://www.daz.dk/2024/10/02/aktivist-paul-watson-weiterhin-inhaftiert/ 48Danish Parliament Confirms Faroe Islands Tip-off Led to Paul Watson's Arrest, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, https://www.paulwatsonfoundation.org/danish-parliament-confirms-faroe-islands-tip-off-led-to-paul-watsons-arrest/ 49Whale conservationist Paul Watson remains in custody on Greenland, DiePresse, 4.9.2024, https://www.diepresse.com/18828121/walschuetzer-paul-watson-bleibt-auf-groenland-in-haft 50Sophie Bachet, A dilemma of law and ethics: Denmark to decide fate of imprisoned anti-whaling environmentalist Paul Watson, The Copenhagen Post, 3.9.2024, https://cphpost.dk/2024-09-03/news/a-dilemma-of-law-and-ethics-denmark-to-decide-fate-of-imprisoned-anti-whaling-environmentalist-paul-watson/ 51Nicolai Kampmann, Paul Watson will remain behind bars in Greenland until December, The Copenhagen Post, 13.11.2024, https://cphpost.dk/2024-11-13/news/round-up/paul-watson-will-remain-behind-bars-in-greenland-until-december/ 52Thomas Borchert, Denmark and the case of Paul Watson, Frankfurter Rundschau, 11 August 2024, https://www.fr.de/panorama/daenemark-und-der-fall-paul-watson-93236487.html 53Japan asks Denmark to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, France24, 1.8.2024, https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240801-japan-asks-denmark-to-extradite-anti-whaling-activist-paul-watson 54Greenland arrests environmental activist Paul Watson, WeLT, , 26.7.2024, https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/prominente/article252635096/Paul-Watson-Groenland-nimmt-Umweltaktivisten-fest-Haftbefehl-aus-Japan.html 55EU Öko Abschiebehaft, Patrick Ruppelt, published on Instagram on... damn, where can I find the date of a post on Instagram? The post was published on my blog on 29.7.2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/DAogVosupRT/ 56Patrick Ruppelt, That's why cow's milk is always cruelty to animals, 20/11/2024, https://paddys.de/darum-ist-kuhmilch-immer-tierquaelerei/ 57Mark Benecke, "Time is Up!" - Mark Benecke in the EU Parliament, Martin Sonneborn, 24 July 2024, https://youtu.be/Z_p9yYXZuCI 5810üPatrick Ruppelt, Canada, oh Canada, Where senses and mind meet, 8.11.2024, https://paddys.de/kanada-oh-kanada/ 59Sebastian Schuster, Animals and animal welfare in Japan, Japan my love, 14 October 2024, https://japanmeineliebe.de/2021/03/10/tiere-und-tierschutz-in-japan/ 60 Kyoko Hasegaw, Japan shows first commercial fin whale catch in 48 years, Japan Times, 11.9.2024, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/09/11/japan/commercial-fin-whale-catch/ 61Patrick Ruppelt, EU Öko Abschiebehaft, Where senses and reason meet, 29 July 2024, https://paddys.de/eu-oeko-abschiebehaft/ 62Japan hunts whales in the whale sanctuary], Greenpeace e.V., Background, https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/meere/fischerei/japan-jagt-wale-walschutzgebiet 63Valentin Schatz, Whaling Convention without Japan - The end of hide-and-seek, Legal Tribune Online, Wolters Kluwer, 2 January 2019, https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/japan-austritt-walfangkonvention-voelkerrecht-moratorium-politik 64Patrick Ruppelt, DAS hat Japans Walfang mit deutscher Milch in Afrika zu tun, Where senses and reason meet, 15.10.2024, https://paddys.de/das-hat-japans-walfang-mit-deutscher-milch-in-afrika-zu-tun/ 65Japan hunts whales in the whale sanctuary], Greenpeace e.V., Background, https://www.greenpeace.de/biodiversitaet/meere/fischerei/japan-jagt-wale-walschutzgebiet 66International Court of Justice : Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic, Frankfurter Allgemeine, 31/03/2014, https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html 67Katrin Matthes, Japan out of control? The fin whale quota disaster, 30.7.2024, https://de.whales.org/2024/07/30/das-desaster-um-die-finnwal-quote/ 68Bianca König, 31 July 2024, https://de.whales.org/2024/07/31/japan-jagt-finnwale/ 69Mars, NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/humans-to-mars/ 70Cedric Engels, Doctor Whatson, How will we live in 2050? Doctor Whatson: Live from the future, 21 April 2024, https://youtu.be/nKrvDNk5D84 71Our research and conservation projects, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), https://de.whales.org/wale-delfine/artenschutz-und-forschung/wdc-forschung-schutzprojekte/ 72International Court of Justice : Japan may no longer hunt whales in the Antarctic, Frankfurter Allgemeine, 31/03/2014, https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/internationaler-gerichtshof-japan-darf-in-der-antarktis-keine-wale-mehr-jagen-12872493.html 73Selbstjustiz, die, Der deutsche Wortschatz von 1600 bis heute, DWDS - Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, https://www.dwds.de/wb/Selbstjustiz 74ARTEde, Sea Shepherd - Pursuit on the high seas | Doku HD Reupload | ARTE, 12.10.2024, https://youtu.be/dkPzZU-Dm3E 75Ten years in prison for Japanese whale conservationists?, Greenpeace Switzerland, 16 February 2010. https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/story/16118/zehn-jahre-gefaengnis-fuer-japanische-walschuetzer/ 76Sea Shepherd - Japanese arrest whaling opponents, stern, 12.3.2010, https://www.stern.de/panorama/wissen/natur/sea-shepherd-japaner-nehmen-walfanggegner-fest-3569918.html 77Paul Watson Controversial whale conservationist arrested in Greenland, 22.7.2024, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/paul-watson-festgenommen-100.htm 78The structure of the government, https://old.visitfaroeislands.com/de/ueber-die-faeroeer-inseln/die-struktur-der-regierung/ 79Campaigns in the Faroe Islands - Sea Shepherd, https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln/ 80Sea Shepherd, https://sea-shepherd.de/kampagnen/kampagnen-auf-den-faroer-inseln/ 81cpwfgermany - The Faroe Islands and Denmark must stop the grindagrap! https://www.instagram.com/cpwfgermany/reel/DAB0PNqNs8P/ 82Sabine Oelmann, Whaling opponent Paul Watson still imprisoned, ntv Panorama, 22 August 2024, https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Walfang-Gegner-Paul-Watson-noch-immer-in-Groenland-inhaftiert-FreePaulWatson-setzt-sich-fuer-Freilassung-ein-article25173640.html 83Patrick Ruppelt, in Held braucht deine Hilfe, Wo Sinne und Verstand aufeinander treffen, 17.11.202,4, https://paddys.de/ein-held-braucht-deine-hilfe/
