The Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior tied up in the Port of Port Elizabeth on Friday 20 February 2015.
Skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, Mike Fincken – who has ties to Port Elizabeth in an Aunt who stays here, graciously took a call from the ABYC Commodore (yours truly) and agreed to allow a contingent of Junior Sailors from the ABYC Sailing School to visit the Rainbow Warrior this morning.
Eager and budding junior Greenpeace activists bombarded Mike with questions about Rainbow Warrior; “How does she float”, “How many crew”, “How fast does she go under sail”, “Has anyone been seriously injured”, “How do I get a berth on Rainbow Warrior”, “What happens if you run out of food”, “How do you set the sails”, “How old do I have to be to apply to be part of her”, “Do you use your engines”, “How does a helicopter land on the deck”, “Who pays for the running”, “How much did she cost”, “How heavy is she?” and on and on as only enquiring minds can be.
Mike was ever so gracious and answered each question patiently as he hosted us first on the foredeck, then bridge, then aft (where the helicopter lands) and finally in the crew lounge and galley.
The Rainbow Warrior opens to the public on Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm and is well worth a visit.
https://twitter.com/MikeFincken/status/569099106498584576
Rainbow Warrior is a sail driven ship of around 800 tons with a pretty unique sail configuration of jib and numerous staysails attached to two tripods – not the normal mast and boom arrangement. Consequently her ability to run in front of the wind is pretty poor and maximum speed before reefing is 12 knots under sail. A comfortable heel angle of sail is 20 degrees and knock-down is reached at 60 degrees.
For a four year old boat she is in remarkably good condition and Mike’s pride in her is evident.
All funding is from private donors – no business, political party or government funding is accepted making Greenpeace truly a warrior for the people of the planet. For every R1 you donate, 80c of it is spent directly on Greenpeace campaigns. The other 20c is spent on admin and on raising funds for Greenpeace work.
There are two ways to support Greenpeace – one is by becoming a member and pledging a monthly amount and the other is via a once off donation. Donations can be made via the Greenpeace Africa page – http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/donate/ or by phoning 011 726 2404 on Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm.
Alan Straton
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1080 Adults (excluding children) visited the Rainbow Warrior on Sunday between 10 and 4: https://twitter.com/MikeFincken/status/569552501030187008
Me thinks that Green Peace and their dedicated team are amazing. Incredible work that they do in minding the environment and endangering their lives. All the best to Mike and his team.