Dec. 10 (UPI) — A “miniboat” made by students at three Rhode Island schools was placed in the Atlantic Ocean and washed up on a British beach 10 months later.
The boat, dubbed Inspiration, was made by students at Central Falls High School, Veterans Memorial Elementary and Raices Dual Language Academy, all schools located in Central Falls.
The boat was made seaworthy by the elementary students and instruments including GPS trackers were installed by the high school students. The project was organized by the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography to help teach kids about the ocean.
“This boat was almost a message in a bottle. It had lots of information about Central Falls and about the schools and the children that helped build it,” Andrea Gingris, assistant director of public engagement at URI-GSO, told WPRI-TV.
The miniboat was placed into the Atlantic Ocean in March 100 miles off the Rhode Island coast by the R/V Endeavor, the University of Rhode Island’s research vessel.
The small vessel’s sails carried it across the ocean in 10 months, and in November it was found on a beach in Christchurch, England.
Instructions included aboard the boat instructed the finders to bring it to a nearby school, which turned out to be Tiptoe Primary School in Lymington.
The students who built the boat were able to video chat with a Tiptoe class Thursday morning to talk about the project.
