''Fri'', a New Zealand yacht, led a

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

of yachts in an international protest against atmospheric

nuclear tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

Moruroa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll ...

in French Polynesia in 1973.Elsa Caron, (ed.) 1974, Fri Alert (Caveman Press, Dunedin). The Yacht Fri's own story of her protest voyage into the French Bomb Test Zone ''Fri'' was an important part of a series of anti-nuclear protest campaigns out of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

which lasted thirty years, from which New Zealand declared itself a

nuclear-free zone A nuclear-free zone is an area in which nuclear weapons (see nuclear-weapon-free zone) and nuclear power plants are banned. The specific ramifications of these depend on the locale in question. Nuclear-free zones usually neither address nor pro ...

which was enshrined in legislation in what became the

New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 In 1987, the Fourth Labour Government passed the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act. The Act essentially declared New Zealand as a nuclear free zone. The purpose of the Act was ambitious and wide-ranging: “to est ...

. In 1974, coordinated by

Greenpeace New Zealand Greenpeace Aotearoa (GPAo) is one of New Zealand's largest environmental organisations, and is a national office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace. History Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand was founded in 1974, two years after ...

, the ''Fri'' embarked on a 3-year epic 40,233-kilometer "Pacific Peace Odyssey" voyage, carrying the peace message to all nuclear states around the world.Michael Szabo, ''Making Waves: The Greenpeace New Zealand Story'',

Background

''Fri'' was built for sail alone; she is a Baltic coastal trader constructed out of oak in 1912 in

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. She is 32 meters long with a gaff rig, hand winches, and traditional ropes and canvas sails. In 1969 she carried 60 tons of cargo on an historic passage between Northern Europe and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. In 1970 she carried fresh water to the American Indian

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

who had seized and occupied

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pri ...

from the U.S. government. In 1971 under her new owners American David Moodie and his brothers, the ''Fri'' sailed from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

crewed by a group of hippie consumer escapes, in search of adventure and an alternative lifestyle down-under. This epic voyage to New Zealand would result in the vessel and its owners carving their name in New Zealand peace history.

Voyage to Mururoa

The protest voyage of the yacht ''Fri'' in 1973 was an expedition to French Polynesia, as an act of civil disobedience to highlight the ills of French nuclear tests at

Mururoa Atoll Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

. This was part of a wider action spearheaded by the

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

movement between 1957 and 1991.Disarmament and Security Centre – Publications – Papers
Within days of ''Fri'' arrival in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

from Hawaii in April 1972, the crew of ''Fri'' were approached by Mabel Hetherington from CNDNZ ( Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (NZ)) and

Barry Mitcalfe Barry Mitcalfe (31 March 1930 – 1986) was a New Zealand poet, editor, and peace activist. Born in 1930 in Wellington, New Zealand, Mitcalfe studied at Victoria University of Wellington, where he received a Diploma in Education in 1962, and a Ba ...

from Peace Media, and sounded out as to whether they might be interested in joining a planned flotilla of protest yachts which would sail in an act of civil disobedience into the Mururoa exclusion zone in French Polynesia to attempt to disrupt French atmospheric

there. CND New Zealand, which had its roots in the British anti bomb movement, had been actively campaigning against nuclear tests not only in French Polynesia but against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

atomic bomb tests in Australia and the South Pacific since the 1950s. In 1963, the Auckland CND campaign submitted its "No Bombs South of the Line" petition to the

Parliament of New Zealand The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

with 80,238 signatures calling on the government to sponsor an international conference to discuss establishing a

in the Southern Hemisphere. Throughout the 1960s CNDNZ facilitated a national New Zealand public educational program on the serious health issues surrounding atmospheric nuclear testing in the region, while also promoting nationally the advantages of declaring New Zealand a

. The New Zealand Peace Media took upon itself the responsibility to organize the logistics of the campaign for a flotilla of protest yachts to sail to Mururoa. In the first instance the ''Fri'' was to act as the mother ship to a fleet of smaller yachts from around the Pacific. The Peace Media boasted branches and contacts in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Fiji,

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. David Moodie, the owner and captain of the ''Fri'' did initially express some reservations as to the preparedness of his yacht for the proposed 5391-kilometer mission. These details were accommodated by the Peace Media, which took responsibility for finding his crew (selected from an international crew of activists and peacemakers) for the proposed voyage. The protest initiative sought to create sufficient negative publicity against the French and to force them towards a

nuclear test ban The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nation ...

in Polynesia. ''Fri'' was made ready and sailed from Opua to Whangarei. On 23 March 1973 ''Fri'' sailed from New Zealand into open ocean towards Mururoa. At Mururoa ''Fri'' maintained a 53-day vigil within the test exclusion zone, just outside

and in sight of the test island, with the company of a second peace yacht from New Zealand, the ''Spirit of Peace'', for five weeks. For many weeks her only contact was by brief radio messages with the New Zealand government warship HMNZS ''Otago''. In a symbolic act of protest, New Zealand's Labour government of

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

sent two of its navy frigates, HMNZS ''Canterbury'' and ''Otago'', into the test zone area. On 17 July 1973 French commandos stormed the ''Fri'' and arrested the crew and ship, impounding ship and crew firstly at Mururoa and then at Hao Island. The publicity surrounding the ''Fri'' expedition in 1973 and the protest voyages of David McTaggart on the yacht ''Vega'' in 1972 and 1973, (McTaggart was severely beaten by French commandos in 1973), made international news and heralded an invigorated protest movement from New Zealand and Australia which eventually forced the French to cease nuclear testing in the Pacific in 1996. The

French Military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

conducted more than 200

at Mururoa and

Fangataufa Fangataufa (or Fangatafoa) is an uninhabited coral atoll in the eastern part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. The atoll has been fully-owned by the French state since 1964. From 1966 to 1996 it was used as a nuclear test site by ...

atolls over a thirty-year period, 40 of them atmospheric. Greenpeace continued an unrelenting protest offensive in French Polynesia up until 1996. According to French

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Luis Gonzales-Mata of ''Actual'' magazine in 1976, large numbers of Polynesians had been secretly sent on military flights to Paris for treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Tahitian activist Charlie Ching told a nuclear-free Pacific

hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

in 1983 that more than 200 Tahitians had died from radiation-linked illnesses over 5 years. Due to the secrecy of health issues in French Polynesia, figures remained impossible to confirm. In August 2006 people of French Polynesia welcomed an official report by the

French government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...

confirming the link between an increase in the cases of

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

and France's atmospheric nuclear tests in the territory since 1966.

References

External links

The Sailing Ship ''Fri''
at th
Atomic Forum
*
Anti-Nuclear Oxford debate by former New Zealand PM David Lange
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070807041554/http://www.disarmsecure.org/publications/papers/pacificpeacemaker.html New Zealand becomes a Nuclear Free Zonebr>Keeping New Zealand Nuclear FreeNuclear Free New Zealand (NZHistory)Preservation of the ''Fri'' campaign
{{Greenpeace Anti–nuclear weapons movement Environment of French Polynesia Individual sailing vessels

Background

Voyage to Mururoa

See also

References

External links