Yesterday morning, the TSS The Topaz, a gorgeous old ship registered in Panama, arrived in Vancouver at around 7.30, docking alongside three commercial cruise ships. Many delegates, performers, members of the Hague Appeal for Peace, and founding students were onboard to give the people of Vancouver an introduction to the history of the Peace Boat, its mission and life on the ship for 100 days stretches around the world.
I attended a presentation called "Travelling the World, Changing the World" in the early afternoon. Indeed the press and many curious individuals were on board to hear people from all walks of life discuss the importance of the voyages. Afterwards, the press was invited to a round of Q&A, before breaking for lunch in the Topaz Dining Room. I took the opportunity to go to the upper deck and listen to live music and have a juice. In doing so, I met with a Korean War veteran named David Laskey, who was seated at a table in the shade, creating little origami cranes for hanging en masse and brought back to Japan on the ship. Once I got busy learning the folding technique, he started to open up a bit and spoke of his wife who he'd met in Hiroshima. The entire Crane Project that's taken off so successfully in schools and libraries, got its start at his daughter's school, when the custodian showed some of the students how to create the crane.
It wasn't until I got home and went online to search for his wife, Kinuko, that it really sunk in who I'd been just chatting with on deck. Here's one of many memorial links to give more background on the story.
As I became more and more curious about life on the ship and what actually goes on at the 20 ports of call, I wandered some of the hallways and found little Japanese bulletin boards and origami animals pasted on doors and the deeper I walked down the halls, the more Japanese signage I encountered. There was an announcement on the loudspeaker at one point, announcing lunch and a few safety measures onboard, and it was first done in Japanese, later in English. This really gave me a feeling of being away at sea! I walked into the Dining Room and saw the menus printed in both languages, along with duty-free wine available (all priced in Yen). There were several small rooms open for workshops, musical and artistic performances, and discussion groups needed during the journey. I noticed a Kirin drink machine with items and prices all in Yen.
At some point, I met a young lady who had been on one of the voyages. She'd taught English in Japan for three years and made the transition from moving back to Vancouver by spending the 100 days travelling round the globe. As she discussed the small details, and I later asked about her overall experience, she started to get teary-eyed. Indeed this trip was life-altering for her. She's strongly considering another Peace Boat journey. All a matter of first getting to Japan where the ship sets sail and returns. She went on as a volunteer and this kept her busy, while allowing enough time between the activities to meet people at ports of call and have people around when the ship would sail, a favourite memory of her days at sea. With internet usage at 5 dollars a minute, and not much cell phone coverage, one is clearly out of touch for three months. The experience of close to 1,000 people aboard a ship is like that of a community. Some people she would see daily, a few she only met for the first time after the 100 day journey was over.
I left that boat completely transformed and humbled. It would be fantastic to be on this boat one day. There's a Peace Boat US organization forming shortly, based on the world-wide one and only Topaz experience. At 100 US dollars per day on the ship, it would probably be worthwhile going on as a volunteer. And now, several photos of the ship. As with all photos on my blogspace, feel free to click on any photo to enlarge it.
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