Nearing the end of an epic voyage, a veteran peace campaigner is about to sail down the Medway and join the Climate Camp protesters, before sailing on to Westminster for the anniversary of Hiroshima
Reached Dover on Monday and Ramsgate Wednesday.
On leaving Ramsgate, Friday there were some problems, and they returned, Harriet's hand had suffered slight damage and they needed to look at the rudder.
Peter spent the night alone propping the boat carefully against a harbor wall as the tide went out, its a single keel and this is a tricky operation keeping the ropes tied such that they allow the keel to settle without the boat falling over.. a sleepless night..
Sunday the boat is OK and two new crew are to join for leaving Monday morning heading for Chatham dock, opposite the Climate Camp site, or Queenborough if they dont get that far.
Full story and news link www.littlepeaceboat.net
Video report link of Peter from KentOnline:
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kol08/article/default.asp?article_id=45765
An account of the Journey from St Leonards to Dover; 28th-29th July
emailed by Fiona, one of the crew..
Sat. 26th July: Phone call received from Hastings Against War supporter,
CND co-ordinator away, support needed for a small peace boat under a CND flag.
Arrival time: 1p.m.- in 3 hours, off St Leonards, East Sussex.
Convergence of Justice not Vengeance & Peace News founders, CND and Christian CND supporters, armed with camera, picnics, swimsuits and a leaking dinghy.
My role? To answer the call of Spirit and follow its guidance. How? Intuitive flash, followed by discernment, supported by presence at Quaker Meeting the next morning.
My credentials? Taking time to listen to my inner voice and not being busy that week-end, a desire to overcome fear and stretch my self-concept, to be a witness.
Lessons learnt:
'LIVE ADVENTUROUSLY' - advice from collective Quaker faith and practice, as my ever-deepening source of creative action, strangely at ease when feeling completely 'at sea', lead to a sense of awe and stillness in 'the eye of the storm' (literally -cyclonic conditions and a thunder storm while sailing towards Dover around midnight). Even the accidental grabbing of the anti-sickness acupuncture band, rather than the sail ties, to tie up the flailing main sail and one of us falling upside-down into it as the wind flapped in different directions, produced inner chucklings!
'LIVE SIMPLY' - life on a 20 foot boat, three strangers spending 36 hours together, makes me face up to this reality bit by bit. Although we had messy moments, inner dramas and tensions at odd times, trust prevailed and the sea became a literal metaphor for life in its lessons of following the ebb and flow of the tides, listening and acting at the right time upon the changing wind in the sails, trusting the sailing experience of the others, and my openess to learn new skills and unlearn old habits.
Being prepared to be purged by the purifying action of water and learning how 'to sail close to the wind' as a team of diverse individuals in a panic situation, having to tack patiently south-east before heading north-east in the right direction may be some of what we need to survive and thrive
On leaving Ramsgate, Friday there were some problems, and they returned, Harriet's hand had suffered slight damage and they needed to look at the rudder.
Peter spent the night alone propping the boat carefully against a harbor wall as the tide went out, its a single keel and this is a tricky operation keeping the ropes tied such that they allow the keel to settle without the boat falling over.. a sleepless night..
Sunday the boat is OK and two new crew are to join for leaving Monday morning heading for Chatham dock, opposite the Climate Camp site, or Queenborough if they dont get that far.
Full story and news link www.littlepeaceboat.net
Video report link of Peter from KentOnline:
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kol08/article/default.asp?article_id=45765 An account of the Journey from St Leonards to Dover; 28th-29th July
emailed by Fiona, one of the crew..
Sat. 26th July: Phone call received from Hastings Against War supporter,
CND co-ordinator away, support needed for a small peace boat under a CND flag.
Arrival time: 1p.m.- in 3 hours, off St Leonards, East Sussex.
Convergence of Justice not Vengeance & Peace News founders, CND and Christian CND supporters, armed with camera, picnics, swimsuits and a leaking dinghy.
My role? To answer the call of Spirit and follow its guidance. How? Intuitive flash, followed by discernment, supported by presence at Quaker Meeting the next morning.
My credentials? Taking time to listen to my inner voice and not being busy that week-end, a desire to overcome fear and stretch my self-concept, to be a witness.
Lessons learnt:
'LIVE ADVENTUROUSLY' - advice from collective Quaker faith and practice, as my ever-deepening source of creative action, strangely at ease when feeling completely 'at sea', lead to a sense of awe and stillness in 'the eye of the storm' (literally -cyclonic conditions and a thunder storm while sailing towards Dover around midnight). Even the accidental grabbing of the anti-sickness acupuncture band, rather than the sail ties, to tie up the flailing main sail and one of us falling upside-down into it as the wind flapped in different directions, produced inner chucklings!
'LIVE SIMPLY' - life on a 20 foot boat, three strangers spending 36 hours together, makes me face up to this reality bit by bit. Although we had messy moments, inner dramas and tensions at odd times, trust prevailed and the sea became a literal metaphor for life in its lessons of following the ebb and flow of the tides, listening and acting at the right time upon the changing wind in the sails, trusting the sailing experience of the others, and my openess to learn new skills and unlearn old habits.
Being prepared to be purged by the purifying action of water and learning how 'to sail close to the wind' as a team of diverse individuals in a panic situation, having to tack patiently south-east before heading north-east in the right direction may be some of what we need to survive and thrive
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