Ady Gil (Earthrace) Sunk By Japanese Whalers

gone bad... more like go right. now the whalers look like the bad guys (they are and always have been, but just in a different light now). how much press is he gettting out of this... before it was a bit of the same old, now he has, had the famous Earth Ship and getting attacked etc etc. i think this was his plan... in ways.

Kafue, they have suspended the Taiji Cove slaughter, to many pics... now that was f**ked up.

far

A very naughty but nice bit on Craig Ferguson in the middle bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmkfT7kJFBs

Fish

l'm getting it.....i think your not getting my theory....i'm thinking BOTH sides are in on this deal ....made for t.v.

Watch Out!

I read a few articles on this event and from what I gathered, the following occurred (this is my interpretation). The AG was repeatedly getting in front of the whaling ship on the starboard side, waiting for the boat to close, then dropping lines in the water and cutting across the whaling ship to try and foul the running gear. This time the whaling ship turned to starboard to try and get aft of the AG and miss the lines. I think something went wrong with the AG or the captain froze while wondering what was happening. As soon as the whaling ship realized the AG wasn't accelerating across his bow, he tried to turn to port to avoid a collision. The AG then proceeded forward at a slow pace right into the ships way. I would like to know what exactly happened on the AG for them to push the throttle at the last second into the path.

My opinion is that the captain of the whaling ship tried to anticipate the AG's menouver and it didn't work out for the AG. Whaling sucks, but every captain is responsible for their crew's well being and in this case the Japanese captain came out ahead.

That doesn't sell though. No one would cut behind the AG to avoid the lines because that's where they are. No, I think the Japanese got tired of AG's crap and went to cut it close and in front and the AG closed the distance and ran into Who-Maru. They figured they could escalate into something attention worthy and they did it. If I was the Japanese captain, I would have gone after him as well. "The operator was acting as a terrorist and after hours of attacks, I went on the offensive to end the attacks Your Honor. We have video showing these attacks as well."

I'm sorry but I disagree fully.

If you look carefully on the Whaler, the wash accelerates down the side of the STB hull and starts to increase which indicates a turn to STB not to PRT.

In my book that is not evasive action, that's attack.

Lord Nelson used to use a similar system to get the edge on rival fleets

I just had an amusing dialogue with a friend that I feel might be worth posting.

Me: Well if I am given a few millions to hinder the whaling, I can surely come up with something more efficent for the buck then whacking up a unique record boat on camera!
Him: Guess that's the reason you aren't!

Earthrace photo at the Miami Boat Show

I talked with these guys because of my interest in biodiesel. They were to circumnavigate running only on biodiesel. Very motivated full of gumption.

I have never seen a Ferarri or a Corvette or anything remotely exotic in a crash-up-derby. It seems like these whale crusaders might keep Earth Race in the garage and choose a slightly more expendable boat to crash into ships many times their size. just a thought.

You see the racing versions of Ferarris and Corvettes put at risk and crashed on a regular basis, and the AG was basically that, a stripped down racing machine.

Not sure what you mean by wash accelerating down the side. This is one of the last frames from the japanese video of the event. The Ady Gil is just out of the frame to the left. It seems pretty clear to me from the Shonan Maru's wake she is in a turn to port.

Looks Z shaped to me. She's on the same course again as the earlier wake, then there's a swing to stbd for a couple boat lengths then a swing back to port.

I guess it comes down to how fast she responds to the helm. She is a 170' harpoon boat so my guess would be she responds fairly quick. You are right about the z shape. I had just noticed the wake was off to the right of the stern. I guess depending how fast the ship reacts to input he could have been aiming for the Ady Gil. I'm still betting he was aiming for a near miss and swung it to port when he saw it was going to be a collision. I'd love to see an accident report if there ever is one.

Yes but they are at risk competing with evenly classed cars and the desired outcome is to finish with your property intact. A crash-up-derby is where you try your best to disable your competitors at your own peril. P.S. i was trying to be funny through the use of metaphor.

Smooth Sailing!

The Sea Sheppard volunteers have never been accused of being the brightest bulbs in the chandelier...

I don't disagree with that because if the AG hadn't throttled up, it would have been a miss. I'm still undecided whether that was intentional or incompetence. After a couple of hours of them trying to foul my gear, I'd run over them...

I agree with that! here's one more metaphor in the form of a question:

would anyone blame even the most dispicable person for swatting a mosquito?

on a serious note I really hate to see Earthrace destroyed. I guess this is why you dont loan your Vette to your irresponsible, emotional, narcissistic neighbor to cruise down to the monster truck rally!

Thing is, what was it still good for? Not much. It was a purpose built vessel that served its purpose. It already has a good few repairs done on her and this wasn't the first crash she was in. Her real cash value was maybe $50,000 regardless what she cost to build.

If the Japanese Captain swung at her with the intention of disabling/sinking her, I would not hold it against him. That he was out there whaling in the first place I would though.