Yesterday, Peter, Cath, Harry John and I went along to the East India docks in London, opposite Canary Wharf to have a tour of the new Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior 3. As a local group we had raised over £700 towards the cost of this state of the art ship, the most environmentally friendly ship in existence today. As we exited Canary Wharf tube station and turned towards the docks we saw her and it was an emotional first sight. She is a big ship, bigger than I thought and very tall - so tall that her huge A-frame masts could not get under Tower Bridge - even when it was opened. We made our way to the dock side where we took a few photographs while there was still light. We were there as key activists, along with over 100 other key activists from around the country and were to be given a special guided tour of the ship. Once the public were off the ship we were ushered on board and given a welcome by Tim Copley, manager of the outreach team then we listened to Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven talk to us about the history of the Greenpeace ships called Rainbow Warrior. This is the third ship to bear that iconic name and she is a purpose built ship with 1200 square metres of sail and two masts, which technically makes her a schooner but everything has been built with sustainability in mind from the insulation and paintwork to the hybrid motor (used when there is no wind). We were told she can reach speeds of 14 knots under sail which is apparently very fast!
All Greenpeaces ships exemplify the internationalism of Greenpeace with crews drawn from all four corners of the world working together to promote peace and confront environmental crime so it felt very special to stand on the helideck and be part of it all. I think everyone there felt it and was touched by it. She is the latest fulfillment of the American Cree prophecy that gave the first Rainbow Warrior its name "There will come a time when the earth grows sick and when it does a tribe will gather from all the cultures of the world who believe in deeds and not words. They will work to heal it and they will be known as the Warriors of the Rainbow"
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