Join VFP and GVCP in welcoming the VFP Peace Boat, The Golden Rule to Rochester, NY!

Dear Friends and Activists,

Just in time for the new Oppenheimer movie release, the VFP Peace Ship, The Golden Rule, is sailing into port in Rochester NY July 20-23, with their message about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the need for nuclear abolition. Please join VFP and GVCP in welcoming the Golden Rule! See information below! We hope you can join us!

Holly Adams for GVCP

Snapshot of the item below:

For Immediate Release                    Contact:     Rev. James Swarts, (585) 473-3042

July 17, 2023                                        JLSwarts@frontiernet.net

Historic Peace Boat in Rochester NY July 20-23
Golden Rule Sailboat Supports Nuclear Disarmament

The storied Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat will be at the Port of Rochester Marina in Rochester July 20-23, 2023 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 Golden Rule will arrive at the Port of Rochester, (1000 N River St, Rochester, NY 14612) late afternoon on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The boat will be docked at the City Pier at the Port of Rochester (former home of the Fast Ferry).  Members of Veterans For Peace, Chapter 23, and members of Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace will hold a welcoming picnic with the crew.

An Official Reception will be held at 9:00 AM on Friday, July 21st with speakers from the Monroe County Legislature, and Rochester City Council.  There will be proclamations presented to the representatives of the Golden rule.  Additional speakers will discuss the threat of nuclear warfare.

The public is invited to see this historic peace boat, to hear about nuclear issues today, and to learn how we can stop the possibility of nuclear war! The boat will be open to the public for tours and discussions following the Reception ceremony until 1:00 PM, and again on Saturday, July 22nd from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  

Groups can schedule an educational presentation by contacting the Golden Rule Project Manager, Helen Jaccard, at vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or 206-992-6364 

You can follow the boat’s progress on this map that updates every ten minutes: share.garmin.com/goldenrule.

The boat will be available for tours and  interviews.

“We are sailing for a nuclear-free world and a peaceful, sustainable future,” says project manager Helen Jaccard.  “Our mission is all the more urgent now that the two nuclear superpowers are confronting one another in Ukraine, greatly increasing the possibility of nuclear war”

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 out of 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.

Press interviews encouraged!  Crew members are available for radio, TV and newspaper interviews.

Please contact the Golden Rule Project Manager, Helen Jaccard, at vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or 206-992-6364 to schedule an interview.

For more information about the Golden Rule Project and its Great Loop Voyage, please see the website, vfpgoldenrule.org