Updates:

1st Voyage

  • Update #1

    A film crew is following the team at Gearhart Elementary School over the entire school year.  Stay tuned for more details…

  • Update #2 - Miniboat Preparations

  • Update #3 - Launch Preparations

    Nate Sandel, Education Director at the Columbia River Maritime Museum is traveling to Hachinohe, Japan to deliver the Miniboat mid-November. The students at Okuki Elementary School will complete the construction on November 14 with a scheduled launch at 8:00 AM on November 15th. It will be launched by Mr. Nakamura’s (head of the Okuki Branch of Minamihama Fisherman Cooperative 20KM in the Pacific Ocean where the offshore currents converge on the Morning of November 15th.

  • Update #4 - Launched

    GO! GO! 大久喜号 (GO! GO! Okuki Go) was launched on the morning of November 15, 2018 off Hachinohe, Japan.

     

  • April 2020 - 10,570 nautical miles so far

  • May 2020: International Date Line Crossing

  • April 2021: 896 days at sea

    After a record breaking 896 days at sea and clocking 28,538 km of distance via GPS reports, the GPS sent its last message from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We hope that Okuki Go Go continues to sail and is one day found!

The Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Miniboat Program was developed in partnership with Educational Passages and the Consular Office of Japan in Portland. Students in the Pacific Northwest build unmanned sailboats equipped with GPS transmitters, one to launch from the coast of North America and the other to send to their partner class in Japan for launching. While the boats are at sea, students on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean will track their movements. Using real-time data on ocean currents and weather, students will share their predictions on where the boats will go next, and hopefully create lasting friendships.

The mission: to get the boats to cross the Pacific Ocean.

The outcome: through hands-on activities and meaningful opportunities, students are enlightened and empowered.