ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Tribune News Service) — The Golden Rule, a wooden sailboat devoted to peace, will pull into Annapolis later this month to promote nuclear nonproliferation and raise awareness of the threat of nuclear war.

The 34-foot ketch, owned by Veterans for Peace, a global organization of veterans and allies, is on a 15-month journey around the "Great Loop" of the central, southern and eastern United States where it will visit 100 ports. It will arrive in Annapolis on April 24, kicking off a series of events organized by peace organizations Annapolis Friends Meeting, Anne Arundel Peace Action and Backbone Campaign.

"We are sailing for a nuclear-free world and a peaceful, sustainable future," Golden Rule project manager Helen Jaccard said in a news release.

After the boat's arrival, there will be an official welcome ceremony on April 25 at Annapolis Yacht Basin on Compromise Street from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Mayor Gavin Buckley, County Executive Steuart Pittman and state Sen. Sarah Elfreth are slated to attend.

The next day, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., a presentation will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Duke of Gloucester Street. The presentation will include the history of the Golden Rule mission dating to 1958 and a discussion of the urgency of negotiating new peace treaties to counter the most recent tensions between the United States and Russia in Ukraine.

"Our mission is all the more urgent now that the two nuclear superpowers are confronting one another in Ukraine, greatly increasing the possibility of nuclear war," Jaccard said.

The public is invited to visit the peacekeeping vessel; groups can arrange educational tours by contacting Jaccard at vfpgoldenruleproject@gmail.com or 206-992-6364.

The Golden Rule made its maiden voyage in 1958 when four Quaker peace activists, including former Navy officer Albert Bigelow, set sail for the Marshall Islands to protest U.S. nuclear weapons testing. The activists were stopped in Hawaii before they could reach the Pacific islands.

It wasn't until 1963, when the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed, that most, but not all, atmospheric nuclear tests were ended.

The Golden Rule has changed owners several times since its construction. In 2010, the Golden Rule sank off northern California. Members of Veterans of Peace along with Quakers and wooden boat lovers restored the vessel and its original mission of promoting nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. Since 2015, the Golden Rule has sailed the seas from Hawaii to Canada, to various U.S. ports, to Cuba, and now up the East Coast.

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