Golden Rule Peace Boat Coming to Stillwater, MN

The storied Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat will be in Stillwater, MN

from September 16 through September 19, 2022 to raise awareness locally about the growing danger of nuclear war and build support for abolishing nuclear

weapons.

Stillwater is also where this 34-foot wooden ketch will begin its 15-month voyage

around the “Great Loop” of the central, southern and eastern United

States. The crew plans to make 100 ports-of-call along the Mississippi River, in coastal cities and around the Great Lakes. This new Golden Rule voyage is part of an ongoing Veterans For Peace (VFP) national outreach project. VFP owns and maintains the boat.

Meet the crew and learn more about the project:

Sep 17 3-5 PM at Stillwater Library — 224 3rd St N. Stillwater, MN 55082, Margaret Rivers room and Terrace.

Sep 18. 2-4 PM at Lowell Park South — Sam Bloomer, Stillwater, MN 55082

The Golden Rule will be docked at St. Croix Dock & Packet in Stillwater Sep 16-19.

Church, school and civic groups are welcome to schedule educational presentations by contacting Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard at vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or 206-992-6364

“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 two nuclear powers are confronting one another in Ukraine which greatly increases the chances of nuclear war.”

Brief history of the Golden Rule:

From 1946 to 1958 the U.S. detonated 67 nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands that displaced indigenous inhabitants and spread radiation around the globe. Efforts from a concerned public were unsuccessful in stopping the nuclear weapons testing so in 1958, four Quaker peace activists tried to sail the Golden Rule from Los Angeles to the Marshall Islands to interfere with the tests.

The crew was arrested and detained after stopping for supplies in Honolulu. The arrests though sparked worldwide awareness about the dangers of radiation, especially after it was 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 which banned nuclear testing in air, water and space.

In 2010 the Golden Rule was discovered in northern California’s Humboldt Bay, a sunken, derelict wreck. Over the next five years the boat was lovingly restored by members of Veterans For Peace, Quakers and wooden boat lovers. Since 2015 the Golden Rule has plied the West Coast waters from Mexico to British Columbia and visited all of the Hawaiian Islands while sailing on with her original mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

PRESS: Crew members are also available for radio, TV and newspaper interviews.

Please contact the Golden Rule Project Manager, Helen Jaccard, at vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or 206-992-6364 or Mary McNellis, 612-821-9141, vfpsoaw@gmail.com to schedule an interview.

CALENDAR EVENT

The historic Golden Rule sailboat is part of a Veterans For Peace (VFP) global mission that raises awareness about the growing danger of nuclear war and actions we can take to prevent it. The boat will begin its epic 11,000 mile Great Loop Voyage in Stillwater, MN this September before heading downstream to New Orleans and beyond.

Meet the crew and learn more about the project:

Sep 17 3-5 PM at Stillwater Library — 224 3rd St N. Stillwater, MN 55082

Margaret Rivers room and Terrace.

Sep 18. 2-4 PM at Lowell Park South — Sam Bloomer, Stillwater, MN 55082

The Golden Rule will dock at St. Croix Dock & Packet in Stillwater Sep 16-19.

For more information or to schedule a tour or to request a Golden Rule speaker for groups, please contact: Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard — 206 992-6364 — vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com

Craig Wood is a VFP member in Minneapolis