Captain Paul Watson doesn’t wear a cape, but he’s been called a hero. He’s also been labelled a pirate, a terrorist, a troublemaker.

Sitting across from him in Monaco, however, you meet a man who is remarkably calm, reflective, and poetic. The 73-year-old has spent his life in service of the sea — chasing whalers, confronting navies, ramming illegal ships, getting arrested, and, more recently, writing poetry.