While the Sea Shepherd crew has not been able to stop the whaling fleet from continuing their operations, they aren’t ready to back down yet either. In part they claim victory as they have been able to at least keep the whalers from reaching their quota. Full of emotion and more determined than ever they refuse to back down.

As the Sea Shepherds manage to continue to trail the Japanese whaling fleet, they believe they are keeping them from being able to continue to hunt the whales. However, little do they know the Japanese have using some of their harpoon ships as decoys while the others have already returned to hunt. With the Steve Irwin trailing the factory ship by a safe margin, a Harpoon Vessel is able to turn over a whale which the huge factory ship hauls up its slipway right in front of the astonished Sea Shepherds.

The Sea Shepherd are trying to prevent the Japanese whalers from fouling their propeller. Desperate to get them to back down, Captain Paul Watson shoots off flares and a speed line causing Chris Aultman to panic in the helicopter.

Finally, the small boats launch a prop fouler in front of the Yushin Maru #3, and they believe they have successfully disabled the ship. Low on fuel, the small boats head toward the Steve Irwin, but in order to get them on board safely, Paul must employ a dangerous military strategy, “The Crazy Ivan”. The essentially involves circling at a high speed to try and create calm water for the small boats to return. However, just as he begins the maneuver, the Yushin Maru #3 speeds in as it appears the Sea Shepherds prop foul attempt was a failure after all. As the boats begin to load the harpoos ships turn the LRAD on Andy Perry and the Delta crew. Peter Hammarstedt and the rest of the crew resort to desperate measures, finally deploying a stern line to get the whalers off the Steve Irwin’s tail.

Bait and Switch

As the Steve Irwin continues to trail the Japanese whaling fleet, the smaller harpoon boats begin to speed ahead of the factory ship. Meanwhile, the crew of the small boats decide that the use of a sharpened grappling hook thrown from an inflatable boat to try and pull down the nets in advance of a throwing attack isn’t worth the risk. Desperate to come up with another plan, at one point a crew member actually approaches Paul Watson with a plan to board one of the Japanese ships from the small boat. Soon Captain Watson….

The Desire to Fling Things
Captain Watson and the crew of the Steve Irwin are in pursuit of the Nishin Maru, effectively stopping the whaling operations as long as the factory ship is on the run. Unfortunately as a storm approaches one of the small boats has lost sight of the Steve Irwin and radio communications are being cut off by the Japanese whalers who are “keying” their microphones on each channel they attempt to use to relay positions. Finally they are able to get through on the satellite phone and discover they are miles away and stuck in an ice filed. In order to catch up to the ship they are going to have to be able run at near full throttle as the Steve Irwin needs to maintain speed to keep the Japanese from whaling. Finally they reach the ship and the crew is able to board safely.
Through the thick fog, the three harpoon ships emerge right on the tail of the Steve Irwin, as the come back to help protect the factory ship. They surround the Sea Shepherds which allows the Nishin Maru to make a full 180 degree turn. Boxed in by the three ships, the Steve Irwin is forced to stay on course as one ship cuts clear across the bow of the ship. Threatened by this offensive action, Paul Watson ordered to crew to retaliate by throwing rotten butter bottles back at the Japanese, which causes the ship to break off and fall behind. The Steve Irwin is then able to get back on track with chasing the Nishin Maru and the chase continues throughout the night.

With a Hook
Surrounded by the Japanese whaling fleet, the Sea Shepherds ready themselves for their biggest day of battle to date on the campaign. Helicopter pilot Chris flies up and confirms the crew’s fears - all of the whaling vessels are equipped with LRAD weapons.

The Unintimidatables
The Steve Irwin is quarantined in Hobart and the crew anxiously waits to find out if they have been exposed to Anthrax. Finally they get the all clear and 1st mate Peter Brown wastes no time leaving the ship after having quit the campaign.

Yum Yum, Eat Crow
The Sea Shepherds have come across the entire Japanese fleet searching for one of their crewmembers that fell overboard. Paul orders his crew to stand down, and they agonize over being so close to their target, yet unable to attack.

As Bad as our Bark
The Sea Shepherd gather intel on the fleet’s location, they realize that they are low on fuel. As they weigh whether or not to head back to port, they come across the entire Japanese fleet searching for one of their crewmembers that has fallen overboard.