Rough weather and high seas have delayed the arrival of Golden Rule. See below for updates!
Veterans For Peace will welcome the Golden Rule Peace Boat to Traverse City on Wednesday, August 23.
The visit will kick off a series of local events to raise awareness about the growing danger of nuclear war and to build support for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The 34-foot wooden ketch is sailing on a 15-month voyage around the “Great Loop” of the central, southern and eastern United States, making 100 ports-of-call. The Golden Rule is a national project of Veterans For Peace, which owns the boat.
The public is invited to see and tour this historic peace boat, to hear about nuclear issues today, and to learn how we can stop the possibility of nuclear war!
Schedule of Events
Tours of the Golden Rule
The vessel will be at the ADA dock on the north end of Northport Harbor today and will offer Tours of the Golden Rule from noon to 2pm.
Rally for Peace
Wednesday, August 23 – 4:30pm – Open Space, Clinch Park Marina with the following speakers and musicians:
Speakers
- Gerry Condon (Golden Rule crew member)
- Helen Jaccard (Golden Rule crew member)
- Alfred Meyer (Physicians for Social Responsibility lobbyist, writer on nuclear issues, and part-time crew member)
- John Zachman (NMC professor)
- Holly Bird (local activist, Water Protector, and co-executive director of Title Track)
- Kevin Kamps (Beyond Nuclear watchdog and nuclear waste specialist)
Musicians
- Grand Traverse Band Community Drum (Anishnaabe singers and drum)
- Mindimooyenh Healing Circle (Indigenous women honor the water with song)
- Victor McManemy (local activist and musician)
- Robin Lee Berry and band (local artist and musician)
Movies at the State Theatre
Tuesday, August 22 – 7:00pm (doors 6:30) – Downtown T.C.
The State Theatre will host a FREE double feature and Q&A with the crew of S/V Golden Rule. Doors open 6:30pm, and the first of two 25-minute documentaries Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule begins at 7pm followed by Raising the Phoenix of Hiroshima – An Odyssey Interrupted. (more details below)
Flotilla for Peace
Regrettably, the Flotilla for Peace has been cancelled.
Glenn Carroll and all of the flags of nations who have ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
About the Golden Rule
FP Golden Rule Project is a National Project of Veterans For Peace
The Golden Rule Project aims to advance VFP’s position of opposing nuclear weapons and war, while seeking peaceful alternatives to war. They have recovered and restored the original peace boat, the Golden Rule, that set sail in 1958 to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere, and which inspired many peace makers and peace ships that followed. The restored Golden Rule is voyaging once more, to show that a nuclear peace is possible, and that bravery and tenacity can overcome militarism.
History of Golden Rule
From 1946 to 1958 the U.S. dropped 67 nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands, displacing the indigenous inhabitants and spreading radiation around the globe. The concerned public tried to stop the nuclear weapons testing, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Finally, in 1958, four Quaker peace activists tried to sail Golden Rule to the Marshall Islands to interfere with the tests. They left Los Angeles and stopped for supplies in Honolulu, where the crew was arrested and prevented from continuing. The arrests sparked worldwide awareness of the dangers of radiation, which was also being found in mother’s milk. In 1963, President Kennedy, along with leaders of the UK and the USSR, signed the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, banning nuclear testing in the air, the water, or space, but allowed it to continue underground. Today, most nuclear testing is done via computer simulation.
In 2010 Golden Rule was found as a sunken, derelict wreck in northern California’s Humboldt Bay. Over the following five years, she was lovingly restored by members of Veterans For Peace, Quakers and wooden boat lovers. Her original mission was also restored – sailing for a world free of nuclear weapons. Since 2015 the Golden Rule has plied the waters of the West Coast, in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California and Mexico, even sailing to all the Hawaiian islands.
Golden Rule on the Kennebec River in July 2023
Sailing for a Nuclear Free World
the two little boats that did…
Both of these actions on sail boats in 1958 were influential in reaching the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 prohibiting nuclear weapons tests / explosions in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water.
Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule
A documentary about the historic peace sailboat the Golden Rule, originally launched in 1958 to sail into the nuclear test zone of the Marshall Islands to protest nuclear weapons.
Veterans for Peace restored the boat in 2015 and has since been sailing for peace and disarmament in the world. The film chronicles this history and documents the boat’s protest of the US Navy’s air and sea show in San Diego in 2017.
By Caneyhead Pictures
James Knight – Filmmaker & Wendy Rogan – Producer
Phoenix of Hiroshima: An Odyssey Interrupted
The story of the Reynolds Family, the Nuclear Age and a brave wooden Boat. The film depicts the 1958 voyage to interfere with and bring worldwide attention to the devastating US nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands.
by Brian Cowden
Producer and CEO of Phoenix of Hiroshima Project Inc.
Veterans for Peace
Veterans for peace was founded in 1985 to increase the public awareness of the total costs of war.
The heart of VFP’s work is carried out by our 100+ chapters in the U.S. and Vietnam. Members determine the most effective way to carry out this work in their community.
Veterans for Peace also believes and exists to restrain our government from intervening in the internal affairs of other nations. End the arms race. Reduce, and eventually eliminate, nuclear weapons. Seek justice for veterans and victims of war. Abolish war as an instrument of national policy. We attempt to accomplish our mission through public displays such as marching in parades, our memorial displays on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day in the open area in Traverse City and speaking out against war in public places. We proudly wear our Chapter 50 T-shirts. We also attempt to be present at schools to present a more realistic image of military service with no disrespect to Service branch recruiters.
Keep up with all our activities on the Veterans for Peace Chapter 50 website and the VFP 50 Facebook.
Contact Us
Use the form to contact the Traverse City Chapter of Veterans for Peace by email with specific questions about the event.
The Golden Rule upstaged an aircraft carrier at the “Parade of Ships” that kicked off “Fleet Week” in New York City. We like showing a peaceful alternative to these weapons of mass destruction.
photos courtesy Veterans for Peace Golden Rule Project
