Flotilla for 'Oil Free Seas' Departs Wellington

SV Tiama skipper Henk Haazen addresses the crowd during the public farewell for his yacht SV Baltazar leaving Wellington to join the 'Oil Free Seas' flotilla. Banners read "Stop Deep Sea Oil." Other boats in the flotilla left Auckland and the Bay of Islands earlier this week. SV Tiama originally departed from Kaikoura. They will meet about 110 nautical miles west of Raglan where Anadarko is about to start exploratory oil drilling. The flotilla is a coalition of individuals and boat owners who oppose deep-sea drilling and the new legislation that takes away New Zealander's long-standing right to peacefully protest at sea.