News
Japanese Whalers To Join in the Grindadrap in September
The Despicably Gory Japanese Faroese Bloody Cultural Exchange Program
Thanks to international pressure, the Faroese whalers need all the moral support they can get these days – and it looks like they will get that support in the form of a visit from some Japanese whalers.
Apparently the Japanese whalers want to show the Faroese how to deal with Sea Shepherd; not that they’ve had much success on that front themselves, considering the recent verdict by the International Court of Justice which has ruled their whaling operations have been unlawful.
The Japanese whalers have asked the Faroese if they can participate in the Grindadrap. They also want to invite some Faroese whalers to come to Japan to kill a few dolphins – you know, just for shits and giggles.
This will be interesting. How will the Faroese justify Japanese whalers killing pilot whales as part of their culture?
That’s a long way to come at great expense to get some whale meat. Of course the real reason for the trip is to indulge in their lust for killing.
Will the Faroes become the place for psychopaths to come to satisfy their perversions similar to peadophiles heading to Thailand to indulge in their particular nasty fantasy?
Have the Japanese whalers become so frustrated by being unable to kill all the whales that they wish to travel to the Faroe Islands to indulge in a blood sport?
Is this the start of a Japanese do it yourself whale kill tourist adventure? Come to the Faroe Islands and get your hands bloodied as you partake in a quaint custom of killing whales with the locals.
Will the Faroes become the Mecca of every sick whale-killing psychopath on the planet?
The Japanese whalers are due to arrive on September 4th. They will most likely feel right at home with the waters turning red with blood and the screams of dying cetaceans ringing in their ears.
They will feel at home with the fact that both the Japanese and the Faroese have the highest levels of methyl-mercury in their bodies. They could have a competition to see whose brains are the most diminished by mercury.
And of course they will feel right at home with the sight of so many Sea Shepherd volunteers sporting the Jolly Roger logo, the same logo that has made their lives miserable in the Southern Ocean and in Taiji, Japan.
A meeting of like-minded bloody cetacean killers in a gore splattered blood soaked cultural exchange program – isn’t that really special?
I can hear it now:
Japanese: We kill dolphins and whales. We love to kill dolphins and whales.
Faroese: Really? Wow, we love to kill dolphins and whales to.
Japanese: We must be brothers from another mother, so much in common.
Faroese: We hate Sea Shepherd.
Japanese: Wow, we hate Sea Shepherd too. What a coincidence. We should party.
Faroese: Great idea, lets go kill some pilot whales and some dolphins.
Japanese: Yes lets have some fun. We can kill whales together.
Faroese: Yes, maybe we can go to your country and kill dolphins later.
Japanese: That would be fun but Sea Shepherd takes all the fun away. They are crazy anti-killing people.
Faroese: Yes it’s incredible they are against killing whales and even cows. God hates them.
Japanese: Yes our Gods hate them too. They are very unGodlike. What’s the point of having animals if you can’t kill them?
Faroese: Yes, God gave us these whales to kill. Those Sea Shepherd crazy people are working against God’s will.
Japanese: The only good whale is a dead whale.
Faroese: Same goes for Sea Shepherd – evil people for wanting to save dolphins. How sick is that?
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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