Chargers-by-the-Sea
Beaufort Middle School (Beaufort, North Carolina, USA)
Updates:
About Us
Thanks to the generosity of the Big Rock Foundation and support from Carteret Education Foundation, students at Beaufort Middle School in Beaufort, NC were provided a miniboat kit to take part of an extracurricular opportunity.
The crew worked over weeks to prepare their boat, and then named it Chargers By the Sea in honor of their school’s mascot, The Chargers, and their proximity to the Atlantic coast in North Carolina.
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Boat in Progress
Over the 2025 school year, a small group of students undertook building a miniboat to represent not only their school but their whole county of Carteret!
They followed the proper procedures in ballasting and attaching the keel, applying epoxy for sealing, spreading anti-fouling paint with care, designing their sail and deck, and installing sensors for collecting important scientific data out at sea.
The build process:
The design process:
The tech progress:
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Visit to North Carolina Maritime Museum
The captains and crew, headed offsite and visited the North Carolina Maritime Museum for a special tour. Students enjoyed learning about maritime history, boat building and the craft and care that goes into producing a seaworthy vessel.
They even got to test launch their miniboat from the docks (a “Shakedown Cruise”) to ensure it floats and all systems work properly. Success!
Come see our boat on June 12th, 2025 at Big Rock Landing for the 2025 Big Rock Tournament! You will be able to make a prediction of its track at sea, add a message to the cargo hold, and learn all about the project before its launch.
More info at:
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Ocean Science Data from Onboard Sensor Pack
Data from the Sensor Pack:
The location reports will show on the map at the top of this page here (which updates hourly with new positions if available). Here below is where you can see the data reporting from the sensor package. In addition to reporting location with a secondary GPS tracker, this system is also collecting air temperature, water temperature, and orientation of the boat. Please note that the map below will only the last 7 days of data and may include invalid points and data. If you are interested in looking at the data in a different format from the whole voyage, contact us.
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An UN-REEL experience at Big Rock 2025
During the 2025 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament on June 12, students from the Beaufort Middle School miniboat crew presented their boat to Dale Britt and the crew of Weldor’s Ark.
Earlier in the day the boat was on display at the landing for the community to learn about it. We also did final testing of the electronics.
The crew was also featured on Big Rock TV:
And together we sealed the cargo hatch before it was handed over to the crew of Weldor’s Ark! You can watch that part on Big Rock TV as well:
June 13, 2025 – LAUNCH DAY
At 8:45am, Dale Britt and crew of the Weldor’s Ark made a big splash with the miniboat, launching her to sea about 70 nm offshore at 33 30 18.2 N, 76 33 04.5 W before they set their lines out for Day 5 of the Big Rock Tournament. We want to thank the crew and everyone at Big Rock for their support with this project. We’re so excited to track it together and see where it goes!
During Big Rock TV on Day 5, Tommy and Henry gave an update on the boat and shared the launch video:
We’d like to thank the Big Rock Foundation (2024 Charity Recipient) for funding, and support from the Carteret Education Foundation
