Black Rock

Swans Island Elementary (Swans Island, ME)

Updates:

1st Voyage

The Black Rock is currently at the University of Limerick and awaiting repairs, hoping to be relaunched in 2018.

  • May 2017 - Launched into the Gulf Stream

    In May 2017, Black Rock was launched alongside Patriot Pride and Dirigo from the State of Maine Training Ship into the Gulf Stream.

     

  • November 2017 - Landed in Ireland

    In early November 2017, we alerted miniboat enthusiast of Ireland that she was approaching and could make landfall soon. On  the morning of 9 November she narrowly escaped the rocks of Aran Islands and the following morning was reporting from the mainland in a fairly remote area a bit north of the village of Doolin.

    We put out a few Facebook posts in hopes of her recovery. We heard from Fran Cross, a neighbor’s daughter-in-law,  who operates a travel tours in the area. Michelle Whitman, the school teacher from Maine,  heard from Dr. Gerard Dooly at the Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre at the University of Limerick who later the same day forwarded an email from Petar Trslic who found the boat.

    Petar writes: “We found the Black Rock safe and sound around 16.00 gmt, in the rocky area northern of Doolin after an hour of search. The mast is missing and there is a 2″ hole on the hull (where the mast was attached). The hull was filled with the water but everything seems to be there. We didn’t have time to check thoroughly what’s in there since it was getting dark and the mini boat was located in quite remote location. We are going to take a boat to the Mobile Marine & Robotics Research Centre lab at University of Limerick, and will follow up in next few days.

    Anyways we had great craic searching for it and we are happy to find the boat.  Greetings from across the ocean from the recovery team Cathal O’Donnell, Oran Dolphin-Murray and Petar Trslic and all MMRRC team.” 

     

     

     

     

     

    Press coverage:

    A week or two later, more news came from Petar and others with detailed photos of the little Black Rock indicating sections of the hull needing repair. They noted plans is to get local school involved in the project and the fact that Cathal, one of our PhD researchers,  is “interested in taking care of the boat and has some additional ideas about the project.  Give our greetings to whole class :)”.

    During a total of 172 days at sea, Black Rock has successfully battled the rough Atlantic Ocean and Storm Ophelia, with peak winds of 185 km/h. Black Rock is now situated in the Rooftop Garden, just outside of the MMRRC lab, Electronic and Computer Engineering Department, at the University of Limerick. Her current position allows the GPS tracking ping to escape and share the location with watchers all over the world. Black Rock will make her appearance on the Science Week events later on in the week, as we are searching for a local school to help us repair the mini boat before we send her on the return journey in early 2018.

  • 2024 Update in Ireland

    In March 2024, staff from Educational Passages (EP) recently met up with the Black Rock miniboat at the University of Limerick in Ireland. This reunion not only brought back memories of the Black Rock’s 172-day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and Storm Ophelia but also offered a fantastic chance to delve into the university’s cutting-edge robotics research.

    EP was warmly greeted by Gerard Dooly, a Research Fellow at the Marine and Maritime Research Centre (MMRRC) at the University of Limerick. Gerard’s expertise in optical fiber sensors, engineering and advanced sonar operations provided an intriguing glimpse into the realm of robotics and ocean technology.

    The tour of the robotics lab at the University of Limerick was a standout experience during their visit. The EP team was impressed by the state-of-the-art technology being developed, which included operated vehicles (ROVs) drones, and other tools for exploration. The graduate students showcased their projects highlighting their use of printers to craft components.

    The miniboat originally set sail from the State of Maine Training Ship in May 2017, sailed through the Gulf Stream narrowly missed the rocks, near the Aran Islands, and finally landed north of Doolin. Local enthusiasts and researchers assisted in retrieving Black Rock, which is currently held at the University of Limerick.

    We were even lucky enough to have met Petar Trslic who took part in originally recovering the boat in 2017 as a student, and is now a professor of robotics and engineering there! We were so excited to see the enthusiasm from the UL community to continue this project, reconnect Black Rock back to its original school in Maine, and share its story to link with a school in Ireland.

    The adventure continues! To read on about all the places we visited in Ireland in March and the people we connected with, click here: Miniboat Magic in Ireland. 

    Then, in June, another connection popped up on social media: