Four Quakers set sail in 1958 on a 37-foot wooden ketch on a mission to prevent nuclear weapon testing. Sixty-five years later, a new crew is at the helm but still sharing the same message of peace.
Golden Rule, considered the world’s first peace ship, will visit Beaufort in early March. The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort will host a program before the ship’s scheduled arrival to tell the story of Golden Rule’s history, including her current journey with Veterans for Peace.
Join Dr. Arnold Oliver in the museum auditorium on March 4 at 3 p.m. for the program that tells the story of the ship’s mission in opposition to the nuclear weapons war. Admission is free and registration is not required. Golden Rule is scheduled to dock in Beaufort that week and will be open for tours and crew visits March 8 – 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and free sailing as tides and weather permitting.
Golden Rule’s history is an interesting one. She gained fame in the 1950s as four Quakers sailed her toward the Marshall Islands to halt the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. She was later pressed into private service but eventually sank in 2010 during a storm in California. Veterans For Peace raised and rebuilt her, completing the work in 2015. The ship and her crew, reviving not just the ship but also the original mission, are currently on their Great Loop Tour around the Eastern U.S., which includes the Beaufort stop, as well as one in Wilmington from March 2 to 5.
For more information on Golden Rule, visit vfpgoldenruleproject.org. The N.C. Maritime Museum is located at 315 Front St. in downtown Beaufort. For information on the March 4 program, call 252-504-7740 or visit ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com.
By Cyndi Brown