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PAKU VIEWS ISSUE 3 SPRING/SUMMER 2011-12
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307 Main Road, Tairua P: 07 864 8800
M: 021 1457 365 E:
Whale
Warrior
by Pete Bethune
With a forthright, no holds
barred approach, Bethune
shares details of his
incredible story endearing
the reader to his cause.
He recounts the series
of events leading up
the ramming of Sea
Shepherd’s Ady Gil, his midnight boarding of
the Shonan Maru II, detention on board the
whaler, arrest on arrival in Japan and the
resulting four month ordeal in jail awaiting trial
and sentencing. A great action packed read,
peppered with Pete’s unique and whacky
sense of humour. - Rowena Brown
love it here. Betty and Stan sell their delicious venison
salami at our local Saturday market. “Pete’s favourite,”
Stan says, “is Chilli.”
In November 2009, the trimaran, cloaked in a shroud of
black paint, returned to our wharf with a new name, the
Ady Gil, and a new mission. An American, Ady Gil, had
purchased the Earthrace and asked Pete to stay on as
skipper. Heading to Antarctica to join the Sea Shepherd
conservation group in their efforts to stop Japan’s illegal,
annual whale ‘harvest’, he and the crew had stopped in
Tairua again for repairs and a short family visit. We would
be among the last people to ever see the Ady Gil as she
would soon rest at the bottom of the Southern Ocean.
In retaliation to the relentless interference of the
conservation group, the Japanese whaler, Shonan Maru
ll, rammed the Ady Gil in Antarctic’s frigid waters. Pete
said “It was only by chance that we weren’t returned to
New Zealand in body bags”. The Steve Irwin, another
Sea Shepherd vessel involved in the protest campaign,
rescued Pete and his crew from the bowless trimaran.
(Betty and Stan were following Pete’s blog and when
they read what had happened, they were in “absolute
shock”.)
A month later, from the comparitive luxury of the Steve
Irwin, Pete hatched a plan to board the vessel and arrest
the Captain of the Japanese whaler. Under the cover of
night, he snuck alongside the Shonan Maru ll boarding
the imposing whaler from a jet ski. He was thrown
backwards into the icy water on his frst attempt, a stark
reminder that his life was at stake. Repositioned on
When speaking of the multitude
of environmental issues
screaming out for advocacy, he
described himself as “a lion in
a feld of zebras”
the jet ski, he again launched himself into the darkness
towards the ship’s massive stern. When his body stopped
falling, he realized one of his frozen hands was gripping
the net that surrounded the boat. He scaled the stern and
hid under a tarpaulin on the deck. He whispered into his
hand held radio, “The kiwi has landed”.
The purpose of Pete’s daredevil act was to be arrested
and attract media attention to the illegal whaling that
takes place annually in Antarctic waters. His exploits
made front page international news and the Shonan Maru
ll had no choice but to stop whaling and return with Pete to
Japan. He was not without compassion for the Japanese
crew, for he knew his actions meant lost wages for them
all. “I have the utmost respect for the Japanese. The men
were doing a job to feed their families,” Pete says. “I just
wish they would stop killing whales”.
Pete spent four months in a Toyko jail awaiting trial.
Even though it was a diffcult time for her son, Betty
said his letters home were always positive. He was on a
communications ban, however, he did make one friend,
a spider he again named Hercules. Food was typically
cabbage soup and rice, but occasionally there was an
orange. Pete would squeeze a little juice on to the rind to
catch insects for his friend to eat.
Pete wrote his recent book, Whale Warrior, from jail. The
last chapter, The Day of Reckoning, describes the fnal
days of his trial. Pete’s heart sank when the judge read his
sentence, “Two years with hard labour.” Thankfully, the
sentence was suspended and at that moment, all he could
think about was getting home and seeing his daughters,
Danielle and Alycia. (Maybe Stan’s venison salami was
also on his mind)
On the Air New Zealand fight home, a young boy asked if
he could sit next to Pete. They chatted and the boy asked
Pete to give him one piece of advice. “Yeah bro, be strong
and stand up for what you believe in”.
Kia Kaha, Kia Toa – Be Strong, Be a Warrior