From teaching to TV, Matt Kimura spent three months at sea

Matt Kimura, an El Dorado Hills elementary school physical education teacher for 12 years, undertook a risky and life-threatening conservation effort to save whales in Antarctica. His adventurous undertaking was filmed by Animal Planet and can be seen on "Whale Wars" third season. Whale Wars follows members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, founded by Paul Watson, as they deter Japanese whalers from capturing and killing whales. What prompted you to sign up with the Sea Shepherd?Before becoming a teacher, I went to the California Maritime Academy and spent several years as an engineering officer aboard ships. I've always had a love of the ocean and admired how the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society took a stand in protecting the ocean's great creatures. I wanted to use my sailing skills to help their cause. And as a teacher, I wanted my students to grow up in a world where whales are cherished and protected, not hunted down and slaughtered. I also wanted to set an example to my students that they should stand up for what they believe in.What is the controversy behind Japanese whaling? There has been an international ban on commercial whaling since 1986. However, there exists a loophole that states you can kill whales if you're doing research. That loophole allows countries to set their own quota. The Japanese have driven a ship through that loophole and set a quota of over 1,000 whales.What training did you have to go through?Besides graduating from the Maritime Academy, I've worked aboard ships and tugboats for over 16 years. I also have extensive experience driving small boats over open seas.What incentives were offered to be on the show?There were no incentives to be on the show. We were all volunteers and it cost me a lot of money to take four months off work. I paid for my own transportation but the biggest expense was lost wages while I was gone. Once I was on the ship, all food and expenses were taken care of. The biggest incentive to me was just making a difference for the whales and my students.How long were you there?I was gone almost four months, three of those at sea and one in port preparing the ship. The ship was docked off the coast of Africa on the island nation of the Republic of Mauritius. I left in November 2009 and returned in March 2010.What dangers did you encounter?The Japanese whalers were very aggressive toward us. I had powerful water cannons, ear drum piercing acoustical weapons and tear gas aimed at me. They rammed and sunk one of our ships. They rammed and punctured the hull on my ship. I had to rappel over the side of our ship while under full speed to assess the damage done.What was your course of action when you saw what the Japanese call a "research" whaling ship?Our overriding rule of engagement was that we were not allowed to harm anyone on their ship. But we would throw stink and paint on their decks and try to get lines in their propeller. But our most effective tool was to just put our ship right on their tail to keep them from transferring a dead whale from their kill ships to their processing ship. As long as we did this, they were not able kill any whales. Since they are capable of killing and processing 30 whales a day, every day that we harassed them, potentially 30 whales were being spared.What were some of the high points of your time out at sea?The high point for me was being with 26 other people who shared the same passion to save whales and were willing to die for what we believed in. I also loved giving my kids updates from half a world away.How did you pass your time during the quiet hours?We watched movies, played Bananagrams and prepared for the next engagement.What did you do for your meals? The meals were vegan. Since we were down there saving animals, we didn't want to be eating them. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan now, but I try to eat local and sustainably produced food when I can.What types of vessels were provided?We had three ships: The Steve Irwin, a 165-foot flagship, The Ady Gil, a 70-foot fast carbon fiber trimaran which was rammed and sunk, and the 160-foot Bob Barker, a 60-year-old former Norwegian ice reinforced whaling ship which was my ship. On our boat we had two fast 21-foot rigid hulled inflatable boats (RIBS) which we used to harass the whalers. I drove one of these.What was your role on the show?The series was 13 weeks and I had a large role in it, mainly because of my position as bosun. I was the tip of the spear for all the actions that took place on our ship. I think Animal Planet wanted to portray a Sea Shepherd who was not the stereotypical long haired, hippy, tree hugger activist. Everyone can relate to a teacher. Do you give lectures on your trip and on illegal whaling?I do give presentations — mainly to colleges but also to students from first through high school.What other hobbies do you have?I'm a white-water rafting guide and work for All Outdoors in Coloma. I've been doing that for over 20 years. I'm mainly in California, but I've guided rafts in Alaska, Costa Rica and on the Grand Canyon. I also love to ballroom dance.What's your next adventure?Right now I'm just concentrating my time teaching elementary P.E. at Brooks and Silva Valley schools. If I don't get hired back, I'll be going back to Antarctica.What do your students think of your experience? The best part of my experience was sharing it with my students. I was able to give them e-mail updates while out there and they have loved watching Whale Wars on TV with their families. Since I was teaching at three different schools, I had 2,000 kids and their families who knew what I was doing. I made a promise to them before I left and on air that I would try my best to save whales. I kept that promise to them. I love hearing them say to their parents, "That's my P.E. teacher. He saves whales."