Songhees First Nations in a traditional canoe cut through the fog to welcome Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior to Victoria’s Inner Harbour this weekend.
“It was quite a sight and honour,” said Stephanie Goodwin, B.C. director for the international environmental organization.
The 190-foot yacht, painted Greenpeace’s signature green and sporting a painted rainbow and massive sails, docked at Ship Point on Friday and was open for public tours today and Sunday.
“It’s a chance for people to get a snapshot of what we do that they might not see,” Goodwin said.
The ship is the third incarnation of the Rainbow Warrior, and was purpose-built in 2011 for international missions and scientific research. It has a helicopter landing pad, communications centre and was built with eco-friendly materials. The entire $39-million project was funded by donors, whose names are listed on a banner in the ship’s meeting room.
The international crew was joined by local Greenpeace volunteers and canvassers for its West Coast journey, which included a stop in Vancouver last week.
“So many people visited who have been involved with Greenpeace in the past, some from the very beginning,” Goodwin said. “It’s quite amazing. It really feels like a homecoming.”
The environmental organization’s roots date to 1971, when a small group of Vancouver activists set out on a fishing trawler — Greenpeace — to protest nuclear testing off Alaska. The group now exists in 40 countries and has 2.9 million members.
The first Rainbow Warrior sunk in 1985 after being bombed by the French government, which did not want interference in planned nuclear testing. Its replacement was retired after 22 years and is now a floating hospital for a Bangladeshi non-governmental organization.
Capt. Joel Stewart has seen his fair share of tense situations in his 25 years at the helm of Greenpeace ships.
“We do a lot of training and drills for general safety, but also everyone is trained in peaceful, non-violent activism,” said Stewart, an Oregon native who worked on Alaskan crab and salmon boats before he began sailing with Greenpeace in 1989.
In one case, the crew blocked a ship of illegally logged wood in Brazil. “We were able to expose what was happening and changed the labour practices.”
In the new Rainbow Warrior mess hall on Saturday, young people tied on armbands in support of the “Arctic 30” — the 30 members of sister ship Arctic Sunrise imprisoned in Russia a month ago, accused of piracy. The group had been protesting oil exploration in the Arctic.
They also chatted about action taken last week in Burnaby, where 14 Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a Kinder Morgan terminal in a demonstration against the proposed expansion of an oil pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver.
Cole McLean, 24, is on his second tour as a volunteer deckhand. He shared some of the behind-the-scenes perks of the vessel, such as organic meals and international movie nights.
“Dolphins love this boat,” McLean said. “We see them at least once a week on the bow.”
Dave, a wooden dolphin at the front of the ship, came from the second Rainbow Warrior and contains a time capsule. “I heard there was a Bob Dylan song in there.”
Rainbow Warrior is at Ship Point and open for tours 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
