Greenpeace USA | 9,619 followers on LinkedIn. Almost 50 years ago, a handful of determined activists leased a small fishing vessel, called the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail from Vancouver for Amchitka Island in Alaska. Their mission was to protest U.S. nuclear testing off the coast of Alaska with a brave act of defiance: to place themselves in harm’s way. These daring activists sailed into history by bringing worldwide attention to the dangers of nuclear testing even after they were intercepted by the U.S.