The name Rainbow Warrior settled in the imaginations of the crew on the first Greenpeace protest in 1971 – 40 years ago. There was a story book passed around the boat. One story talked of a Cree Indian grandmother named Eyes of Fire who predicted: “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 to heal it….they will be known as Warriors of the Rainbow.”
7 years later Greenpeace bought their first boat and named it Rainbow Warrior. But that was bombed in its 7th year of action – whilst protesting against Nuclear Weapons – in 1985. After the sinking of the first Rainbow Warrior the phrase ‘You can’t sink a rainbow’ was coined to explain that even though the ship had been sunk, the spirit sailed on.
The spirit has sailed on this boat for 22 years. This boat has carried people from around the world and has stood as an icon of hope over pessimism and as an emblem of action over complacency. I and my crew share a special bond with this ship that has been our home, that has helped to shape our lives.
This Rainbow Warrior has traveled the world over. The 88 national flags on board indicate the places she has been. She has stopped the Russian whaling fleet in the straits of Gibraltar, protested in Mururoa like her predecessor, blockaded ships carrying coal, and ships carrying palm oil. She has confiscated illegal fishing nets and assisted in oil spill clean ups. She brought humanitarian aid in the wake of the Asian Tsunami of 2004 and most recently monitored radiation levels off the coast of Fukushima, Japan.
For me the Rainbow Warrior has been my finishing school. On my first night of command, five years ago, we rescued the crew of a sinking yacht. On my third day on board I transmitted a mayday distress when Rainbow Warrior was boarded by angry French fishermen with knives threatening to massacre the crew in Marseilles. The pace never slowed.
Rainbow Warrior has won the hearts of communities around the world and inspired hope. The bunting we’ve hung on the ship is decorated with memories from crew, supporters and well-wishers from Alaska to Argentina, Belarus to Bombay. People who have been touched by the Rainbow Warrior, and who are grateful that a ship like this exists.
Now it is time to say goodbye and so we lower the Greenpeace flag of this old Rainbow Warrior and let her spirit free.
