From the Morristown-Beard School:
“Crimson Voyager” Lands in Spain
Morristown-Beard sailboat recovered off coast of Cádiz
After spending the past four months at sea, Morristown-Beard School’s 6th grade sailboat, Crimson Voyager, has been recovered off the coast of Cádiz, an ancient port in southwestern Spain. The boat was picked up on April 16, 2016, by a team from a local university.
This is the fourth year in a row that Morristown-Beard School 6th graders have launched a 5-foot, unmanned sailboat as part of the “Educational Passages” program. This year’s boat — Crimson Voyager — was launched in December 2015 from Charleston, S.C., with help from MBS trustee and parent Joe Robillard.
The vessel is equipped with a GPS device that transmits to a satellite, so the students have been able to track its journey on the web. In its hull, students placed a variety of items, from letters and friendship bracelets to a baseball and Pez dispensers. All of the items survived the journey to Spain!
The first MBS boat — Crimson Tide – was launched in 2012 and was recovered by a fisherman in Guernsey, an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. It was later re-launched and washed ashore in France. Other MBS boats, Crimson Cruiser and Crimson Wave, have traveled to Florida and the Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland.
MBS Middle School teacher Lisa Swanson says the project is exciting because it also can provide a backdrop to teach everything from physics to world languages. A significant aspect of the project hinges on the hope that students can connect with their peers across the globe when the boat reaches a foreign shore.
When Crimson Tide was retrieved off the coast of Guernsey, for example, it set up exciting new learning opportunities as MBS students connected with students there via Skype.
Now that Crimson Voyager has been recovered in Spain, the MBS 6th graders are anxious to connect with local school children in the Cádiz area and learn more about the region.
A 16th-century base for exploration and trade, Cádiz boasts more than 100 watchtowers traditionally used for spotting ships. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain, and one of the oldest in western Europe.
