The small sailboat with a big mission, the Golden Rule, was in Hawaii in the 1950s, and played a pivotal role in ending global atmospheric nuclear testing. Now she’s back, on a trans Pacific voyage, with a renewed mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
She makes port of call at Kauai at noon, Sunday, Dec. 1 at the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor.
Her crew interacts with local communities, offering sailing excursions and speaking in high schools, churches and civic clubs.
Music, dance, awards and potluck foods will welcome the Golden Rule.
Leaving Kauai, she will sail on to the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. government exploded atomic bombs, and on to Guam, Okinawa, South Korea and Japan in time for the 75th observance of the atomic bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“The Golden Rule’s voyage is not just a nostalgia tour,” according to a press release.
”Treaties entered into between the U.S. and Russia between the end of World War II and 20 years ago, limiting numbers of nuclear warheads and types of missiles that can deliver them, have been terminated in the last 20 years. And new technologies make nuclear warheads more versatile, more thinkable to use, and their delivery less defensible,” the release said.
Organizers point out that the January 2018 false missile alert in Hawaii was a reminder “that a nuclear attack, like a warning, could happen accidentally. The immediate remedy was to fire an administrator. A permanent remedy requires an awakened and determined public response,” according to the release.
Her storied past, how her crew was jailed attempting to disrupt the testing in the Marshall Islands, and how she later sank, twice, before being restored and returned to her nuclear-free mission, makes for an educational and entertaining short film and talk by Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard and other crew members.
The arrival and subsequent events are sponsored by Veterans For Peace.
