Comments on: Last moments of the Ady Gil — leaked footage

By: Priscillahudson

Priscillahudson — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:50:06 +0000

"cuts her engines & only motors at the end in an attempt to get out of the way"

Go to :30 or so & listen to P.B. tell Laurance (sp) to tell the ady's driver to SLOW DOWN to conserve fuel. They were definitely NOT just sitting with no engine power as you infer.

Shame on you.

By: Huddfamily

Huddfamily — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:48:46 +0000

Regardless of who did what to whom – had there been no whalers – there would have been no need for this wonderful boat to have been there. The Ady Gil was better suited to staying silver, being called the Earthrace and doing what it had orginally been built for. Whaling is wrong and unnecessary.

By: JP

JP — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:01:37 +0000

This is NOT footage of the collision. This may have been taken 5-15 minutes before the actual contact. The smaller Ady Gil is towing a long steel cable; in this footage you can see the apparatus on the stern. The crew can be seen looking to the stern checking on the position of the cable several times. They are not looking in the direction of the whaler. The plan was to pass on the port side of the whaler, cut across the bow letting the whaler run over the cable so that it would in tangle in the prop and rudder. This maneuver had been tried several times, but the whaler’s captain would turn the same direction of the Ady Gill and cable. The collision took place when the Ady Gil crossed the bow from port to starboard, cut back to port then went dead in the water. If you watch all the video of the collision, you can see the whaler first turn starboard to avoid the cable, but because the Ady Gil was dead in the water it was DIRECTLY in the path of the whaler(note, in the better quality posts of the collision the towed cable can be seen just aft of the Ady Gil). You can see the whaler turn port to avoid the Ady Gil but hit its bow.

By: echeng

echeng — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:31:07 +0000

Now why would you go and say something like that?

I'm closing comments. Maybe you should click on over to the YouTube videos where there might be peer commentators who will be more receptive to your analyses.

By: Adman

Adman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:09:14 +0000

"I suppose the lesson is that human brains are flawed and cannot be trusted"

Aw... Don't be so hard on yourself! :)

By: echeng

echeng — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:40:46 +0000

It’s incredible that a video can be interpreted in so many ways. I suppose the lesson is that human brains are flawed and cannot be trusted (which we already know from psychology).

By: Albert Schwartz

Albert Schwartz — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:33:04 +0000

The video you posted clearly shows the incident started with Ady Gil overtaking Shonan Maru. Under international rules of the nautical road the overtaking vessel has an absolute obligation to remain clear of the overtaken vessel. No subsequent maneuvering changes Ady Gil’s status under the rules. The overtaken vessel is supposed to maintain course unless it determines action by both vessels is needed to avoid a collision. A last minute turn to starboard to attempt to pass astern of Ady Gil, expecting Ady Gil to speed ahead (the most effective choice), could be justified. Take the Japanese to court but don’t be surprised if it results in a bill for repainting the bow of Shonan Maru.

By: Adman

Adman — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:14:05 +0000

I'm not saying the Ady Gil WANTED to get hit (although I certainly don't rule that out!). But I am saying that they didn't NOT want to get hit. If they REALLY wanted to avoid getting hit, they wouldn't have ever gotten in front of the whaler to begin with, much less cut their engines.

I was once sailing in the San Diego Harbor when an aircraft carrier came in. It was huge and fast, and you know what we did? We got the hell out of dodge. But that's not the game that the Ady Gil was playing.

"When the Shonan Maru approaches, it seems that they aren’t able to react in time." And here is the crux of it. This is why I say they knowingly entered into a game of chicken. They stopped their engines somewhere in the front 45 degrees of a fast, oncoming vessel. That's either stupid or calculated.

Once you're put yourself in that situation, you can no longer claim innocence, in my opinion, and hence the "self-righteous" comment (not directed at you, specifically).

A couple things should go without saying... this is nothing personal against you, obviously. I was just frustrated and unable to resist commenting (unfortunately... :) I also don't endorse killing whales.

By: Alec Connah

Alec Connah — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:27:42 +0000

Thanks for the link Eric -

Bloody Hell!

By: Giles Shaxted

Giles Shaxted — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:31:24 +0000

HOLY COW .. i had a completely different mentality over this incident until watching this. I was all for it, but convinced the Ady Gil crew apt could have gotten out of the way.

BUT SHIT .. the whaling vessel completely did this on purpose with no intention of slowing down.

It also looks like the 'research vessel' isn't the best in the water and little turns get emphasised b the waves.

If I was capt of the Ady Gil .. i would have done the same, and the speed they came at a boat floating in the water .. anyway .. enough said.