TransparentSea: A Voyage To Protect Marine Ecology
Being on the craft every day
that we get to be on it,
it’s truly like
moving meditation,
this whole journey.
Greetings from Australia and welcome to another episode of Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants! Today’s show takes us to the nation’s East Coast where we will meet some of the benevolent members of the TransparentSea project.
TransparentSea was a concept between our group of friends, where we wanted to do everything that we enjoy all in one. And so that’s be out in the ocean, be focusing on the issues that are critical at this point of time, pollutants in the ocean, whales in jeopardy from whaling fleets, and pollution and sonar testing, you name it.
To highlight these issues and others concerning the health of the marine environment, the friends undertook a 700 kilometer voyage aboard sailing kayaks down Australia’s East Coast, from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach, a journey that began October 1, 2009 and lasted 36 days. This specific stretch of coastline was chosen as it is the same route the endangered humpback whales take when they make their annual migration between Australia’s northern coastal waters and the Antarctic Ocean. A 44- minute film entitled “TransparentSea” that documented the trip was released in March 2010.
And we wanted to use our positions as photographers, as surfers, writers, and people who have the good fortune to be able to blow a whistle on these issues. And so we just came up with the idea of being able to do all that in one, and join the whales in their migration, and from there it had a lot of energy where it just started attracting the right people.
We started collaborating with the Surfrider Foundation, and Tangaroa Blue (Ocean Care Society) and the Sea Shepherd (Conservation Society) of course, and our own group “Surfers for Cetaceans,” and then the surfing industry came on board.
The TransparentSea crew was headed by former World Junior surfing champion and vegan David Rastovich, who co-founded “Surfers for Cetaceans” an Australian non-profit organization seeking to protect dolphins, whales, and other marine life.
I am a surfer and I am blessed to have a position within the surfing industry where I can be a communicator and can help expose certain issues in the ocean. So that’s what I am doing. It’s pretty abstract; all I can do is surf well. There’s nothing much else I can really do great. But it doesn’t much matter; that just proves that if you’ve got the passion you can use whatever your skill is for the benefit of others.
Other crew members included Chris Del Moro, co-director of Surfers for Cetaceans and a California, USA artist and surfer; Will Conner, an Australian musician, Hilton Dawe, a world-class Australian water photographer who specializes in professional surfing, and general manager of Surfrider Foundation Australia, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting Australia’s oceans, waves and beaches, Kristy Theissling.
At the end of the day we are doing what we feel most motivated to do, and making use of the skills we have at our fingertips, and giving a portion of what we do in our lives to something greater than ourselves. So Hilts (Hilton Dawe) is using his photography, he’s an amazing photographer, and so he gives that.
Here is Kristy Theissling to tell us about the partnership between the Surfrider Foundation Australia and the TransparentSea project.
Surfrider Foundation Australia and Tangaroa Blue (Ocean Care Society) have a national marine debris initiative, and our role in the TransparentSea project is to manage and collate the data that we collect from our rubbish clean ups.
So basically the kayaks sailing to wherever they are sleeping that night, collect the rubbish, after we have done the collection we spread out the rubbish and count every single piece. That is then computed into our national marine debris database, and we use that data to support local initiatives and generally approach local councils, or as part of our national campaigns or individual campaigns, about various things, depending where the debris comes from.
What we are doing is providing information, being a conduit, so that our surfing world knows what’s going on, because when we started the trip, saying that we wanted to do beach cleaning ups, and everyone was scoffing at the idea, saying our beaches are clean.
But then when we went on the journey and we were sweeping beaches, picking up hundreds of pieces of plastics and rubbish that shouldn’t be there, on our so-called pristine beaches, we all did a double take and went, “Oh, actually, we do need to clean our own act up here in our back yard,” and that there is a shift and a great tangible turnaround in perspective.
The concept was also a formula that we wanted to test, because we want to do this all over the world. There’s surfing communities along coastlines of so many parts of the world where there are issues that need exposing, and issues that surfers could be helping stop. And so we really see this is the great way to be grassroots and to tap into those surf communities and motivate each other, and work together, and be inclusive. So, with our trips, we really want to be cleaning up the beach, and hanging with the locals.
We’ll soon return with more about David Rastovich’s TransparentSea project. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.
A chance of a lifetime; When do you get to go 40 days on the ocean in a little, tiny craft and explore the coasts of Australia? It’s pretty amazing.
Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television, as we learn more about the amazing journey of the members of the TransparentSea project, who followed the annual southern migration of humpback whales along the East Coast of Australia.
The goal of this 700 kilometer sea voyage by sailing kayak from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach was to draw public attention to the huge danger the migrating whales face from whaling ships and the pollution of the oceans by humankind. It was also to highlight the need to safeguard other marine life such as dolphins and the importance of keeping beaches clean. The voyage was done by traveling on sleek vessels that are both ultra-quiet and eco-friendly. Apart from the four main sailing kayaks that made the journey, an additional sailing kayak was made available for guests to accompany the crew for short segments of the trip.
There’s this little craft, Hobie sailing kayaks and they are 16 feet long and about 10 feet wide. They’re a trimaran basically, which is three hulls and they have pedal power and they have a sail and you can steer them really easy. Strap your surfboard on the side, put all your food on the back and inside the craft.
Let’s now get a taste of what the journey was like from the perspective of crew members Chris Del Moro and David Rastovich.
Dave, Kristy and I were going, we were kind of in good rhythm together, tacking and we saw a little baby, a juvenile slapping his tail, and we stopped, pulled the sails so we don’t bother him and out of nowhere the mom comes from the depths and just Woomm…. Slow motion, full breach …o ohm! And I’m talking 50 yards from us.
Wow!
And it solidified why we were doing this. It’s incredible, I mean, what a day!
And then we spotted an offshore seamount that was really shallow and really amazing and then there was heaps of wildlife around it and then had a dolphin encounter that was just epic.
Here they come, Wahoo!
Wahoohoo! Hallo beautiful!
Probably about 10 or so came over to my boat and start bow riding like they do on powered vessels. And I was just losing it because we hadn’t had any interactions with dolphins yet, so we were all starting to wonder if they were, wary of the crafts and things, if they were a bit scared of them. But these guys were coming under the boat, like literally two feet away and then under the nose of the boat, right under the front and I was pedaling as fast as I could, had all my sail out, just to try and keep them interested because we’re pretty boring really. We can’t communicate with them.
So that lasted for, I don’t know how long, but quite a few minutes where they were just surfing all around and then jumped between me and Morat and just all the time; really cool interaction, way out to the sea too, in the deep blue, so it was really nice. And then they just did two big jumps and then left. Gone.
Many whale species are endangered, particularly the humpback. At one point in recent history they were hunted nearly to extinction. We have much to learn from these highly intelligent beings as David now points out using one important example.
Yes, it’s interesting the words we use in our culture as humans in all areas of human language, we’re very small (in vocabulary) in comparison to the whale’s vocabulary and how much they communicate. Their range of sound goes so far and so below what we have in our range of creating sound, and then their intricacy and their memory to create patterns of songs and communication is so much more intricate than ours, that it makes you think, “Well everything in nature has a purpose.”
There’s no excess baggage here, you have what you need in nature right? So, they need to talk about something. They need to be communicating for some reason on such an intricate level and so, I think for us as humans to be in the vicinity of a creature that has such a need to communicate, is an incredible experience.
We thank all the organizations and individuals involved in the TransparentSea project, including David Rastovich, the Surfers for Cetaceans and the Surfrider Foundation Australia for their committed work in bringing awareness to the current dangers faced by the humpback whales and the entire marine environment from harmful human activities such as whaling and the dumping of pollutants.
Through initiatives like these may we all soon awaken and forever seek to safeguard and preserve the aquatic environments and their inhabitants.
For more details on the TransparentSea project, please visit:
Please join us again tomorrow on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants for the second and final part of our program profiling the TransparentSea project. Friendly viewers, we’ve enjoyed your company today on our show. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May the soulful melodies of the ocean always fill our spirits with the love.
Does what we choose to eat affect our overall health?
Even at the age of 90, if I change my type of diet for a few years, my intestines can change. So if it’s very narrow, and you eat a lot of brown rice or five-grain bread, anything that is not refined foods, then the colon can become much softer.
The chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, these are all diseases critically linked to what we put in our bodies, what we eat.
Hear from top physicians why a vegan diet is the key to vitality, strength, and long life, Monday, July 12 on Healthy Living.
Greetings from Australia and welcome to another episode of Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants! Today’s show takes us to the nation’s East Coast where we will meet some of the benevolent members of the TransparentSea project.
TransparentSea was a concept between our group of friends, where we wanted to do everything that we enjoy all in one. And so that’s be out in the ocean, be focusing on the issues that are critical at this point of time, pollutants in the ocean, whales in jeopardy from whaling fleets, and pollution and sonar testing, you name it.
To highlight these issues and others concerning the health of the marine environment, the friends undertook a 700 kilometer voyage aboard sailing kayaks down Australia’s East Coast, from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach, a journey that began October 1, 2009 and lasted 36 days. This specific stretch of coastline was chosen as it is the same route the endangered humpback whales take when they make their annual migration between Australia’s northern coastal waters and the Antarctic Ocean. A 44- minute film entitled “TransparentSea” that documented the trip was released in March 2010.
And we wanted to use our positions as photographers, as surfers, writers, and people who have the good fortune to be able to blow a whistle on these issues. And so we just came up with the idea of being able to do all that in one, and join the whales in their migration, and from there it had a lot of energy where it just started attracting the right people.
We started collaborating with the Surfrider Foundation, and Tangaroa Blue (Ocean Care Society) and the Sea Shepherd (Conservation Society) of course, and our own group “Surfers for Cetaceans,” and then the surfing industry came on board.
The TransparentSea crew was headed by former World Junior surfing champion and vegan David Rastovich, who co-founded “Surfers for Cetaceans” an Australian non-profit organization seeking to protect dolphins, whales, and other marine life.
I am a surfer and I am blessed to have a position within the surfing industry where I can be a communicator and can help expose certain issues in the ocean. So that’s what I am doing. It’s pretty abstract; all I can do is surf well. There’s nothing much else I can really do great. But it doesn’t much matter; that just proves that if you’ve got the passion you can use whatever your skill is for the benefit of others.
Other crew members included Chris Del Moro, co-director of Surfers for Cetaceans and a California, USA artist and surfer; Will Conner, an Australian musician, Hilton Dawe, a world-class Australian water photographer who specializes in professional surfing, and general manager of Surfrider Foundation Australia, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting Australia’s oceans, waves and beaches, Kristy Theissling.
At the end of the day we are doing what we feel most motivated to do, and making use of the skills we have at our fingertips, and giving a portion of what we do in our lives to something greater than ourselves. So Hilts (Hilton Dawe) is using his photography, he’s an amazing photographer, and so he gives that.
Here is Kristy Theissling to tell us about the partnership between the Surfrider Foundation Australia and the TransparentSea project.
Surfrider Foundation Australia and Tangaroa Blue (Ocean Care Society) have a national marine debris initiative, and our role in the TransparentSea project is to manage and collate the data that we collect from our rubbish clean ups.
So basically the kayaks sailing to wherever they are sleeping that night, collect the rubbish, after we have done the collection we spread out the rubbish and count every single piece. That is then computed into our national marine debris database, and we use that data to support local initiatives and generally approach local councils, or as part of our national campaigns or individual campaigns, about various things, depending where the debris comes from.
What we are doing is providing information, being a conduit, so that our surfing world knows what’s going on, because when we started the trip, saying that we wanted to do beach cleaning ups, and everyone was scoffing at the idea, saying our beaches are clean.
But then when we went on the journey and we were sweeping beaches, picking up hundreds of pieces of plastics and rubbish that shouldn’t be there, on our so-called pristine beaches, we all did a double take and went, “Oh, actually, we do need to clean our own act up here in our back yard,” and that there is a shift and a great tangible turnaround in perspective.
The concept was also a formula that we wanted to test, because we want to do this all over the world. There’s surfing communities along coastlines of so many parts of the world where there are issues that need exposing, and issues that surfers could be helping stop. And so we really see this is the great way to be grassroots and to tap into those surf communities and motivate each other, and work together, and be inclusive. So, with our trips, we really want to be cleaning up the beach, and hanging with the locals.
We’ll soon return with more about David Rastovich’s TransparentSea project. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.
A chance of a lifetime; When do you get to go 40 days on the ocean in a little, tiny craft and explore the coasts of Australia? It’s pretty amazing.
Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television, as we learn more about the amazing journey of the members of the TransparentSea project, who followed the annual southern migration of humpback whales along the East Coast of Australia.
The goal of this 700 kilometer sea voyage by sailing kayak from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach was to draw public attention to the huge danger the migrating whales face from whaling ships and the pollution of the oceans by humankind. It was also to highlight the need to safeguard other marine life such as dolphins and the importance of keeping beaches clean. The voyage was done by traveling on sleek vessels that are both ultra-quiet and eco-friendly. Apart from the four main sailing kayaks that made the journey, an additional sailing kayak was made available for guests to accompany the crew for short segments of the trip.
There’s this little craft, Hobie sailing kayaks and they are 16 feet long and about 10 feet wide. They’re a trimaran basically, which is three hulls and they have pedal power and they have a sail and you can steer them really easy. Strap your surfboard on the side, put all your food on the back and inside the craft.
Let’s now get a taste of what the journey was like from the perspective of crew members Chris Del Moro and David Rastovich.
Dave, Kristy and I were going, we were kind of in good rhythm together, tacking and we saw a little baby, a juvenile slapping his tail, and we stopped, pulled the sails so we don’t bother him and out of nowhere the mom comes from the depths and just Woomm…. Slow motion, full breach …o ohm! And I’m talking 50 yards from us.
Wow!
And it solidified why we were doing this. It’s incredible, I mean, what a day!
And then we spotted an offshore seamount that was really shallow and really amazing and then there was heaps of wildlife around it and then had a dolphin encounter that was just epic.
Here they come, Wahoo!
Wahoohoo! Hallo beautiful!
Probably about 10 or so came over to my boat and start bow riding like they do on powered vessels. And I was just losing it because we hadn’t had any interactions with dolphins yet, so we were all starting to wonder if they were, wary of the crafts and things, if they were a bit scared of them. But these guys were coming under the boat, like literally two feet away and then under the nose of the boat, right under the front and I was pedaling as fast as I could, had all my sail out, just to try and keep them interested because we’re pretty boring really. We can’t communicate with them.
So that lasted for, I don’t know how long, but quite a few minutes where they were just surfing all around and then jumped between me and Morat and just all the time; really cool interaction, way out to the sea too, in the deep blue, so it was really nice. And then they just did two big jumps and then left. Gone.
Many whale species are endangered, particularly the humpback. At one point in recent history they were hunted nearly to extinction. We have much to learn from these highly intelligent beings as David now points out using one important example.
Yes, it’s interesting the words we use in our culture as humans in all areas of human language, we’re very small (in vocabulary) in comparison to the whale’s vocabulary and how much they communicate. Their range of sound goes so far and so below what we have in our range of creating sound, and then their intricacy and their memory to create patterns of songs and communication is so much more intricate than ours, that it makes you think, “Well everything in nature has a purpose.”
There’s no excess baggage here, you have what you need in nature right? So, they need to talk about something. They need to be communicating for some reason on such an intricate level and so, I think for us as humans to be in the vicinity of a creature that has such a need to communicate, is an incredible experience.
We thank all the organizations and individuals involved in the TransparentSea project, including David Rastovich, the Surfers for Cetaceans and the Surfrider Foundation Australia for their committed work in bringing awareness to the current dangers faced by the humpback whales and the entire marine environment from harmful human activities such as whaling and the dumping of pollutants.
Through initiatives like these may we all soon awaken and forever seek to safeguard and preserve the aquatic environments and their inhabitants.
For more details on the TransparentSea project, please visit:
Please join us again tomorrow on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants for the second and final part of our program profiling the TransparentSea project. Friendly viewers, we’ve enjoyed your company today on our show. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May the soulful melodies of the ocean always fill our spirits with the love.
Does what we choose to eat affect our overall health?
Even at the age of 90, if I change my type of diet for a few years, my intestines can change. So if it’s very narrow, and you eat a lot of brown rice or five-grain bread, anything that is not refined foods, then the colon can become much softer.
The chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity, these are all diseases critically linked to what we put in our bodies, what we eat.
Hear from top physicians why a vegan diet is the key to vitality, strength, and long life, Monday, July 12 on Healthy Living.
For me
the personal experience
of being with whales
and dolphins
was by far the most
powerful gift I received.
G’day from Australia and welcome to another episode of Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants where we once again visit the nation’s East Coast and talk with some of the benevolent members of the TransparentSea project.
The project involved a 700 kilometer sea voyage by sailing kayak from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach to draw public attention to a number of issues related to our oceans, including whaling. This specific stretch of coastline was chosen as it is the same route the endangered humpback whales take when they make their annual migration between Australia’s northern coastal waters and the Antarctic Ocean.
TransparentSea was a concept between our group of friends, where we wanted to do everything that we enjoy all in one. And so that’s be out in the ocean, be focusing on the issues that are critical at this point of time, pollutants in the ocean, whales in jeopardy from whaling fleets, and pollution and sonar testing, you name it.
The journey began on October 1, 2009 and lasted 36 days and a 44- minute film entitled “TransparentSea” has documented the historic event. With a kind spirit surrounding them, the TransparentSea crew was accompanied by marine animals during their seafaring expedition.
Every day dolphins, would come, a pack of 20, then they’d get their friends like 40, 60, that would be a 100 dolphins under your boat cruising. Like it was unbelievable. Because we were travelling with the migration down the coast, we’d link up with different pods of whales. They are really quite intelligent and they knew we’re actually on their side, they could feel the energy.
The best thing we can say is “LOVE,” they’re the most loving creatures. You see that every time you see someone come into contact with a dolphin or a whale, there’s some kind of uplifting experience for people.
There was one moment especially when we’re in, near, past Newcastle (Australia), all the boats were far out, probably seven-odd kilometers out to sea, where the big, big tankers, we were pretty much in line with them, going beyond them, and we went past them. Just as we’re going through a bit of open ocean again heading south, we just heard these whales coming. Like you hear their tails slapping on the water and cruising behind, and then we all just went and put our heads underwater and they just started singing, just so loud and so amazing. It was (Amazing) actually like, “Okay, we’ve seen a lot of them but let’s just hear them.”
So we all stuck our heads underwater, just hanging off the side of the boat, but you didn’t want to come up for a breath. And you’d see your mate, “Ay ya, ay ya, oh, my goodness,” you’d go under again. It was just so loud and so clear and the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, and was just continuing. It would vibrate into your whole body, like healing. It was just unbelievable. That was one of my highlights for sure, just the sound alone, incredible!
In the same month as the voyage, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit environmental group founded in 1977 by vegan Captain Paul Watson of Canada, was conducting a campaign in Australia’s major cities to save whales from whaling fleets in the Antarctic Ocean. The TransparentSea crew was excited at the prospect of crossing paths with the Society’s flagship vessel, the Steve Irwin, on one leg of their journey.
We’re just getting ready to go out and meet up with the Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, which is about to pull up outside this river mouth in a little while.
My whole journey with conservation stuff and specifically ocean conservation started with Sea Shepherd.
Our only hope in the frontline of this issue to protect these whales which have just made a recovery from the horrendous, slaughter of their populations back in the 1960s, 1970s where it ended. We’ve just got the Sea Shepherds to, put all our trust and our hope in, that they will be effective in defending the whales.
David Rastovich, founder of the TransparentSea project, became a vegan as a result of working with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
A couple of years ago I did a campaign with Sea Shepherd targeting shark finners in the Galapagos Islands. And when we were pulling in the long lines, miles of long lines, and pulling up tuna and different fish, it just hit me. There is no difference between any of these animals and the only animal I was eating was seafood. And I just thought, “There’s no way I can continue doing this.”
And then I looked into the nature of the meat itself, and the toxins within all seafood now, and realized that for me it just wasn’t appropriate to eat it anymore. So it’s been a year or two since I’ve been doing the vegan thing, and it’s working for me and I’ve got more energy than I’ve ever had before, and it’s all good for me. So that’s the stage that I’m in at this point.
When we return, we’ll hear more from TransparentSea’s crew members about their exciting voyage. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.
Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television, as we learn more about the amazing journey of the members of the TransparentSea project, who followed the annual southern migration of humpback whales along the East Coast of Australia. Besides promoting whale protection, the project sought to encourage the safeguarding of other marine life and keeping beaches clean. It may have been first and foremost a serious mission, but there was also fun along the way.
There’s surfing, it is a surf trip too, but it’s just that if we do surf it’s icing on the cake, because the rest of the journey is just so rich. It’s got so much going on, and once you get some surf, you just go, “Oh, yes, that was just the cherry on top.”
But it’s not just humans who enjoy surfing the waves.
You’re riding a wave, you’re just loving the feeling of the wind going through your hair, surfing down this wave, feeling the water and the wind on your skin, and you look in the wall of the wave and there’s a dolphin doing the exact same thing. So you look at that connection and that’s something that I don’t think you can find anywhere in the world with humans and animals, where there’s some kind of action that you’re both doing that is purely for joy.
Where there aren’t any waves to ride, there will certainly be chances to leap out of the water!
The one thing when I’m out there and I see them, you realize it’s their playground. It’s such a large canvas and then all of a sudden these most amazing creatures are kicking their tails and playing. And they’re just so playful around here.
I had this thought of like, “Wow, I wonder why they (whales) breach?” Because no one really knows why they breach like that. And I thought about it, it’s just the same as humans. We like going underwater and feeling weightless for a while, because our whole life we’re feeling the effect of gravity. So we love to slip into the ocean and just melt.
Whales, are stuck in a weightless realm, and all of a sudden when they break the surface they feel their immensity. And man, if I was that size I would love to feel that, anyone would love to feel that you’re just this incredible creature. They love jumping in the wind, just like us humans love riding a bike and feeling the wind through your hair, or riding a wave and feel the speed of wind rushing past.
Maybe they just do everything to feel the joy of lift and launching. Really, they are such sensitive creatures that us on tiny crafts, they perceive us coming from a long way away.
And we got closer and closer, and we kind of came in fully respectful and just check our distance about 200 meters, 300 meters away, and then they came to us, it was just epic.
Oh, they’re coming under the boat. oh, my! Oh, wow!
It made me really appreciate being on a tiny, little trimaran boat that’s noiseless and has no smell and we’re really immersed in the whole scenario.
The feeling, we were just like, this is so good, like just being that close to them.
To want to share that in not a forceful way but to want to share that with other humans and say, “Look how this is incredible. They’re not doing anything to us, let’s not do anything to them, let’s just leave them alone and just simply return the favor.”
Hilton Dawe and David Rastovich now share their final thoughts on the ocean and its precious inhabitants.
Basically, the dolphins and whales, they’re just like extended family. They’re not separate from us, they are a part of who we are, so we just proved that. We just cruised with them, and they were happy. They’re massive animals. They would hang under our boats, hang out with us, and play with us. We were just going, “This is incredible!” It shows that connection, there’s no separation here. So for us, we’re just experiencing it and now we want to share that with other people.
Thank you so much. We are so grateful for the support, and we are a voice for the surfing community all over the world that feels the same way. We all feel that the dolphin and the whale are our representatives, our ultimate surfing inspiration. And we want to be a custodian for our land, our coastline, and we also want to be caretakers for those whales and dolphins.
And our voice is one voice that is the same all over the world. So, we want to say on behalf of the surfing community that we are there to be the caretakers of our coastlines and the defenders of dolphins and whales. So thank you all very, very much for coming.
Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!
We thank David Rastovich, Hilton Dawe, and the other crew members and everyone else involved in the TransparentSea project for their love and enthusiasm in bringing awareness to the current situation of our oceans, coastlines and friendly marine co-inhabitants. May their work continue to enlighten more people about the need to preserve and protect our beloved seas and the life they contain.
For more details on the TransparentSea project, please visit
Intelligent viewers, thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May Divine love always embrace our planet.
G’day from Australia and welcome to another episode of Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants where we once again visit the nation’s East Coast and talk with some of the benevolent members of the TransparentSea project.
The project involved a 700 kilometer sea voyage by sailing kayak from Byron Bay to Bondi Beach to draw public attention to a number of issues related to our oceans, including whaling. This specific stretch of coastline was chosen as it is the same route the endangered humpback whales take when they make their annual migration between Australia’s northern coastal waters and the Antarctic Ocean.
TransparentSea was a concept between our group of friends, where we wanted to do everything that we enjoy all in one. And so that’s be out in the ocean, be focusing on the issues that are critical at this point of time, pollutants in the ocean, whales in jeopardy from whaling fleets, and pollution and sonar testing, you name it.
The journey began on October 1, 2009 and lasted 36 days and a 44- minute film entitled “TransparentSea” has documented the historic event. With a kind spirit surrounding them, the TransparentSea crew was accompanied by marine animals during their seafaring expedition.
Every day dolphins, would come, a pack of 20, then they’d get their friends like 40, 60, that would be a 100 dolphins under your boat cruising. Like it was unbelievable. Because we were travelling with the migration down the coast, we’d link up with different pods of whales. They are really quite intelligent and they knew we’re actually on their side, they could feel the energy.
The best thing we can say is “LOVE,” they’re the most loving creatures. You see that every time you see someone come into contact with a dolphin or a whale, there’s some kind of uplifting experience for people.
There was one moment especially when we’re in, near, past Newcastle (Australia), all the boats were far out, probably seven-odd kilometers out to sea, where the big, big tankers, we were pretty much in line with them, going beyond them, and we went past them. Just as we’re going through a bit of open ocean again heading south, we just heard these whales coming. Like you hear their tails slapping on the water and cruising behind, and then we all just went and put our heads underwater and they just started singing, just so loud and so amazing. It was (Amazing) actually like, “Okay, we’ve seen a lot of them but let’s just hear them.”
So we all stuck our heads underwater, just hanging off the side of the boat, but you didn’t want to come up for a breath. And you’d see your mate, “Ay ya, ay ya, oh, my goodness,” you’d go under again. It was just so loud and so clear and the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, and was just continuing. It would vibrate into your whole body, like healing. It was just unbelievable. That was one of my highlights for sure, just the sound alone, incredible!
In the same month as the voyage, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit environmental group founded in 1977 by vegan Captain Paul Watson of Canada, was conducting a campaign in Australia’s major cities to save whales from whaling fleets in the Antarctic Ocean. The TransparentSea crew was excited at the prospect of crossing paths with the Society’s flagship vessel, the Steve Irwin, on one leg of their journey.
We’re just getting ready to go out and meet up with the Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, which is about to pull up outside this river mouth in a little while.
My whole journey with conservation stuff and specifically ocean conservation started with Sea Shepherd.
Our only hope in the frontline of this issue to protect these whales which have just made a recovery from the horrendous, slaughter of their populations back in the 1960s, 1970s where it ended. We’ve just got the Sea Shepherds to, put all our trust and our hope in, that they will be effective in defending the whales.
David Rastovich, founder of the TransparentSea project, became a vegan as a result of working with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
A couple of years ago I did a campaign with Sea Shepherd targeting shark finners in the Galapagos Islands. And when we were pulling in the long lines, miles of long lines, and pulling up tuna and different fish, it just hit me. There is no difference between any of these animals and the only animal I was eating was seafood. And I just thought, “There’s no way I can continue doing this.”
And then I looked into the nature of the meat itself, and the toxins within all seafood now, and realized that for me it just wasn’t appropriate to eat it anymore. So it’s been a year or two since I’ve been doing the vegan thing, and it’s working for me and I’ve got more energy than I’ve ever had before, and it’s all good for me. So that’s the stage that I’m in at this point.
When we return, we’ll hear more from TransparentSea’s crew members about their exciting voyage. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.
Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television, as we learn more about the amazing journey of the members of the TransparentSea project, who followed the annual southern migration of humpback whales along the East Coast of Australia. Besides promoting whale protection, the project sought to encourage the safeguarding of other marine life and keeping beaches clean. It may have been first and foremost a serious mission, but there was also fun along the way.
There’s surfing, it is a surf trip too, but it’s just that if we do surf it’s icing on the cake, because the rest of the journey is just so rich. It’s got so much going on, and once you get some surf, you just go, “Oh, yes, that was just the cherry on top.”
But it’s not just humans who enjoy surfing the waves.
You’re riding a wave, you’re just loving the feeling of the wind going through your hair, surfing down this wave, feeling the water and the wind on your skin, and you look in the wall of the wave and there’s a dolphin doing the exact same thing. So you look at that connection and that’s something that I don’t think you can find anywhere in the world with humans and animals, where there’s some kind of action that you’re both doing that is purely for joy.
Where there aren’t any waves to ride, there will certainly be chances to leap out of the water!
The one thing when I’m out there and I see them, you realize it’s their playground. It’s such a large canvas and then all of a sudden these most amazing creatures are kicking their tails and playing. And they’re just so playful around here.
I had this thought of like, “Wow, I wonder why they (whales) breach?” Because no one really knows why they breach like that. And I thought about it, it’s just the same as humans. We like going underwater and feeling weightless for a while, because our whole life we’re feeling the effect of gravity. So we love to slip into the ocean and just melt.
Whales, are stuck in a weightless realm, and all of a sudden when they break the surface they feel their immensity. And man, if I was that size I would love to feel that, anyone would love to feel that you’re just this incredible creature. They love jumping in the wind, just like us humans love riding a bike and feeling the wind through your hair, or riding a wave and feel the speed of wind rushing past.
Maybe they just do everything to feel the joy of lift and launching. Really, they are such sensitive creatures that us on tiny crafts, they perceive us coming from a long way away.
And we got closer and closer, and we kind of came in fully respectful and just check our distance about 200 meters, 300 meters away, and then they came to us, it was just epic.
Oh, they’re coming under the boat. oh, my! Oh, wow!
It made me really appreciate being on a tiny, little trimaran boat that’s noiseless and has no smell and we’re really immersed in the whole scenario.
The feeling, we were just like, this is so good, like just being that close to them.
To want to share that in not a forceful way but to want to share that with other humans and say, “Look how this is incredible. They’re not doing anything to us, let’s not do anything to them, let’s just leave them alone and just simply return the favor.”
Hilton Dawe and David Rastovich now share their final thoughts on the ocean and its precious inhabitants.
Basically, the dolphins and whales, they’re just like extended family. They’re not separate from us, they are a part of who we are, so we just proved that. We just cruised with them, and they were happy. They’re massive animals. They would hang under our boats, hang out with us, and play with us. We were just going, “This is incredible!” It shows that connection, there’s no separation here. So for us, we’re just experiencing it and now we want to share that with other people.
Thank you so much. We are so grateful for the support, and we are a voice for the surfing community all over the world that feels the same way. We all feel that the dolphin and the whale are our representatives, our ultimate surfing inspiration. And we want to be a custodian for our land, our coastline, and we also want to be caretakers for those whales and dolphins.
And our voice is one voice that is the same all over the world. So, we want to say on behalf of the surfing community that we are there to be the caretakers of our coastlines and the defenders of dolphins and whales. So thank you all very, very much for coming.
Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet!
We thank David Rastovich, Hilton Dawe, and the other crew members and everyone else involved in the TransparentSea project for their love and enthusiasm in bringing awareness to the current situation of our oceans, coastlines and friendly marine co-inhabitants. May their work continue to enlighten more people about the need to preserve and protect our beloved seas and the life they contain.
For more details on the TransparentSea project, please visit
Intelligent viewers, thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May Divine love always embrace our planet.
