GOLDEN RULE PROJECT

http://www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org/

Who would have thought, seven years ago when we dragged a wrecked sailboat from the bottom of Humboldt Bay on the northern California coast, that we would be reviving a profound and dynamic part of our history? Who would have thought,when the Golden Rule “splashed down” five years later, that we would be launching a powerful new “weapon of mass education?” 

The Golden Rule has now been sailing for three years to ports throughout California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Thanks to your generous donations, the Golden Rule has breathed new wind into the sails of the nuclear disarmament movement. 
We hope you will continue to support the Golden Rule’s mission of sailing for a nuclear-free world and a peaceful,
sustainable future. The Golden Rule’s re-emergence was right on time. In July of this year, 122 nations voted
to pass the historic UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, making it illegal to possess, use, or threaten to
use nuclear weapons. Although the U.S. and the other nuclear powers have not signed the treaty, many disarmament
experts believe this could be the beginning of the end for nuclear weapons and war.
In October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
(ICAN), and thus to the all those who are working for nuclear disarmament. Yes, the Golden Rule
proudly shares in that prize, and we will work even harder to earn it!

So many people have
contributed to the Golden Rule’s success,
too many to name here. We thank the skilled and dedicated
volunteers who spent thousands of hours restoring the
Golden Rule
to her original functionality and beauty. We thank
Veterans For Peace, in Humboldt Bay, San Diego, Tucson and
nationally, for their very generous and continuing
support. We thank our Quaker friends and the many
organizers up and down the coast who have hosted the
Golden Rule
and organized public meetings in their communities. We thank
our wonderful captains and crew, some 70 in all! And we thank all of you who
have provided the much needed funds to make the Golden Rule
miracle possible.

Thanks to you, the Golden Rule has reached tens of thousands
of people during three years of sailing for a nuclear-free world! And we have just begun. We are
planning to reach hundreds of thousands –
possibly millions of people –
in the next couple of years. And we cannot do it
without your support! The Golden Rule
is supported by people who believe in our mission. We
have no big foundations or philanthropists supporting us
(yet)! But hundreds of people have given tens to
thousands of dollars to support the Golden Rule’s mission. 
We need your help now if we are to continue to sail for peace.

Help the Golden Rule Sail
Across the Pacific!Concerned about the threat of
a nuclear war between the U.S. and North Korea,
the Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project has joined those
who are calling for Negotiations Not War! But we are
doing more than that. We are now planning for a
possible voyage across the Pacific! First to Hawaii,
where the original Golden Rule crew was stopped and arrested
in 1958, and where people are now afraid they could be among
the first victims of a nuclear war. Then to the Marshall
Islands, where the original crew hoped to interfere with
U.S. nuclear bomb testing, and where formerly habitable
islands, widespread cancer and birth defects are a constant
reminder of the devastation caused by nuclear
weapons. Then on to Japan, which in 2020 will solemnly
commemorate the 75th
anniversary of the U.S. nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Perhaps we would even sail to Korea!

Given the real possibility of nuclear war, now is the time! To make such a voyage, the Golden Rule
will need additional equipment, rigging, fuel, food, and much logistical and organizational support. Please help
the Golden Rule raise awareness around the world, before it is too late.The Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project is
drawing up plans right now for this bold voyage across the Pacific, beginning as early as Spring of 2018. If we can
pull it off, we will make a big splash on the international stage. We will tell the world that peace-loving people
in the U.S. are willing to take risks –
to do whatever we can –
to head off the threat of a devastating nuclear war. 

Do you want to be part of the next voyage of the Golden Rule? 
Are you on board to help make it happen? Please consider making an extra special end-of-the-year donation. 
Together, we will be making history. We will literally be helping to save the
planet. Thank you!
Sailing for Nuclear-Free World!

Gerry Condon President, VFP Golden Rule
Committee

p.s. The Golden Rule is spending the winter months in San Diego. We take people out sailing on a
regular basis. We are also training new crew members. If you are planning to visit us in San Diego,
please give us a call at 206-499-1220. We will be happy to give you a tour, to take you out sailing, or even to
train you to crew the historic Golden Rule peace boat.