Crimson Current

Morristown Beard School (NJ)

Updates:

1st Voyage: 2022

  • Introducing the Crimson Current

    This is the 10th miniboat for Morristown Beard! The first MBS boat — Crimson Tide – was launched in December of 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 have traveled to Spain, Florida, the Shetland Islands, and the Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland.

    To mark this special anniversary, the 2021-2022 boat, Crimson Current, was launched in a new location in the North Atlantic Drift, a current that is an extension of the Gulf Stream. Read more on the Morristown Beard’s website.

    10 years and 10 Miniboats at Morristown Beard School

    Since 2012, Morristown Beard School in New Jersey has launched 10 miniboats with the Educational Passages Miniboat Program. To hear more about the program, and the latest on the 10th miniboat’s whereabouts, check out the podcast below:

    Check out other episodes of the Educational Passages podcast here.

  • December 2021 - Media Report

    We have finally voted on the boat name and boat design.  We have some good ones that represent our school and an ocean theme. First, the name of the boat is CRIMSON CURRENT. We have been studying all about ocean currents and can’t wait to see our little boat drift the ocean currents and hopefully get to another continent. Because we are a geography class we voted to have an image of a globe painted on to the deck along with points of the compass. In addition, we plan to have everyone in the class sign the boat with markers, which is a cool idea. The school seal is going on the sail along with the boat name. Finally, we decided on a wave theme to go along with the Crimson Current name.

    Taking pictures and taking notes of the different crews is fun. Some of the crews have been working in the hall, middle school common room or outside. So far we have documented a fair amount of the boat’s progress.

    Here is what has been happening –

    SAIL CREW

    Not many students signed up for the sail crew, but those who are on it have made great progress. Early in their work they spent time looking into the kinds of markers to use on the sail-ones that will hold up under lots of sun and ocean spray. They worked hard to trace the school’s seal onto the sail and it looks pretty good. They borrowed stencils from the art teacher so that they could trace the name of the boat onto the sail. When we get back from vacation, the crew plans to use the markers to color the sail.

    CARGO CREW

    This crew seems to be having a lot of fun thinking about what to include in the cargo hold. They have measured the cargo space to see how much stuff we can fit before placing the lid on it. The crew has made a list and has had all of the other crews add to the list. With each item listed, they have begun to add the names of people who will buy or donate the item. We have a big list posted in the classroom to keep track of all the items. Some of the things listed  include: a dollar bill, an MBS t-shirt, a map of New Jersey, a mini football, sand from the Jersey shore, and literature on the school. One other big thing will be our pen pal letter and the winning videos from our video contest.

    DECK CREW

    The deck crew is a popular crew because it seems that they get to do lots of the drawing and painting. They worked on first making a template of the deck on butcher paper and added the winning designs. They also have been researching the kind of paints and markers that can be used. We want the colors to be able to hold up with the salt water and sun so that when the boat lands people can see our designs. The crew sanded the deck and used pencils to draw the designs. They put a compass around the mast area, a globe-with continents, and left space in the stern for everyone to sign their name. The name of the boat, CRIMSON CURRENT, was stenciled on each side of the boat and included lots of waves. It should look cool when they start to paint it.

     

    HULL AND KEEL CREW

    This crew is pretty small. Mrs. Swanson described it as a crew that would work with smelly materials and paint. Maybe that is why fewer people signed up for it. We could see that the crew started by using a scale to measure the weight of the keel and they have been working outside to fill the keel with sand and resin. They definitely had to work with smelly, goopy liquid! The crew measured and mixed the sand and resin that they put into the keel. The keel was filled to the top and the crew started to paint the keel with the paint that keeps the barnacles from attaching to the boat. They are going to start painting the bottom of the boat next week.

    LAUNCH CREW

    The Launch crew is responsible for deciding where CRIMSON CURRENT will be launched. They have been looking at all of the boat launches from other schools on their iPads. They have also been using a website that shows all of the currents around the world. After interviewing the crew, we have determined that they would like to choose a location to launch other than the Gulf Stream. The school has used the Gulf Stream for all of the past boats and CRIMSON CURRENT is the school’s 10th boat, so they want to do something different. The group is looking at two different locations to launch- off the coast of Kenya and off the coast of Ireland. Everyone seems to want the boat to get to land this year but we may not have the money to send the boat to Africa. The group was talking about ways to contact people in Africa to help get the boat into the current heading to Asia. We have a possible contact in Ireland, so that might be a good way to go. Mrs. Swanson told the crew to not to worry about the cost just yet.

  • March - April, 2022 - Deployment Plans

    The Crimson Current will be launched from the M/V Independent Horizon of the Independent Container Line (who launched the HVES Cruiser in November 2021). The students reviewed their transit schedule beforehand and recommended 3 launch sites to the crew:

    On March 30, 2022, Ms. Swanson brought the miniboat to the docks in Chester, PA and handed it off to the crew of the M/V Independent Horizon (see pictures below). We’d all like to thank Jan Roels and Sean Clancy of the Independent Container Line, Edward Moriarty, and Andrew Parish for helping to arrange this incredible opportunity!

    After talking with the Captain, it was decided that they would launch the miniboat after the ship leaves Cork, Ireland on its transit back to the US.

  • April 23, 2022 - Launched off the M/V Independent Horizon

    On the transit from Southampton, UK to Chester, PA, the crew of the M/V Independent Horizon launched the Crimson Current on April 23, 2022 at 10:29am GMT. Special thanks to the Captain and crew!

     

  • June 28 to July 5, 2022 - Landed and recovered in Ireland

    By the middle of June, the Crimson Current started approaching Ireland and by June 28 had landed in Barry’s Cove Bay Beach in Donaghmore, Co. Cork. The students back in New Jersey were notified by their teacher, Ms. Swanson through Google Classroom.

    A request for assistance was also posted here on the website, and sent out to contacts in Ireland. Here is the message:

    SEEKING ASSISTANCE WITH RECOVERING UNCREWED MINIBOAT CRIMSON CURRENT FROM COASTLINE IN CORK, IRELAND

    UNCREWED 1.5m long sailboat (MINIBOAT) ashore at Barry’s Cove Bay Beach, Donaghmore, County Cork, Ireland (51.589501857758, -8.7890517711639 – see map above and zoom in for latest location report) after 66 days and 5,110 km voyage . Please rescue if possible to do so safely, and take pictures/video if you can. To the right is a picture of the boat before it was launched for reference.

    This is an educational project from the US, built by Morristown Beard School students in New Jersey. We invite you to read above for the full story.

    The students would like to see their boat brought to a nearby school so they can meet and learn about Ireland, so please contact Educational Passages for more information and if you know anyone that can assist in a recovery to avoid damage to the vessel. It is an uncrewed vessel, like a message in a bottle. Thank you!

    July 5, 2022

    The GPS reported until June 30, but then went quiet and we didn’t know why. We called upon some friends to help us out, and Rory Jackson came to the rescue! He contacted some of his friends, and one of them, Billy McCarthy, went out in a kayak from his fishing vessel Girl Katie, into a cave that he thought Crimson Current was stuck in. Billy was right! He successfully recovered the miniboat, and now we know why the GPS had stopped reporting.

    It also turns out that the miniboat had been spotted at sea last week by Billy’s son, but he didn’t know what it was until after it was recovered. Someone else said they also recalled seeing the miniboat floating in Barry’s Cove at one point, which must have been before it found its way into the cave on a tide.

    We are so grateful to Rory, Billy, and all of the folks who put effort into recovering the Morristown Beard School’s 10th miniboat.

    Later that day on July 5, we received an email from Katie McCarthy, who said: “Hello 6th graders of Moristown-beard school! We found your boat!!! My name is Katie McCarthy, my father Billy McCarthy found your boat in Barryscove, Ireland. We had a great time opening your boat as you can see in the video below! Thank you so much for all the lovely treats and letters and photos of ye all! We cannot wait to give the boat to the local 11-13 year olds in Barryroe National School. Thank you again! Ye made our day! Below are videos and photos of us opening the boat and where the boat was found!”

    Next the boat will be brought to Barryroe National and other schools in Cork so they can connect with the students in New Jersey.

  • 1st Voyage - Complete

    Explore the titles above to learn more about the first voyage of the Crimson Current.

2nd Voyage: 2023

  • October - February 2023: Classroom Connections

    Since the miniboat was recovered in Ireland thanks to Billy McCarthy and coordination from Rory Jackson, it was taken to the Barryroe National School.

    By October 7, 2022, students at Barryroe National School received letters from the students at Morristown Beard School in the US that sent the boat. On their Facebook page they said:

    “LETTERS FROM AMERICA!!!!!!! Last Friday 6th Class received a visit from Rory Jackson who is the founder and facilitator of the www.oceansplasticproject.ie. One of the projects he is involved with is the https://educationalpassages.org/ which uses Mini boats to educate young people. Some of the boats are built by the students and tracked all over the globe and collect data on wind and tide movements as well as connecting schools and people.

    Excitingly one of these arrived in Barry’s Cove earlier this summer and has been the focus of much excitement for the New Jersey based school that built and deployed the boat. The boat was recovered by local fisherman William McCarthy and his daughter Katie, both former students of our school.

    Today, the boat ‘The Crimson Current’ was brought into school for 6th Class to open to much excitement. What a treasure trove of goodies, momentos and letters the class discovered inside.

    A live zoom has been arranged for next Friday with Morristown Beard School in New Jersey to discuss the contents etc. We then hope to facilitate a pen-pal initiative between the two classes going forward.

    It will then be our turn to fill the boat and set it off on another journey. Rory hopes that he can arrange for container vessel ‘The Independent Horizon’ which departs from Cork Harbour to take the boat out and launch it for our school. We hope that 6th class will be able to travel to Cork to deliver the boat to this vessel. We hope to fill the ship under our 50th Anniversary Theme.”

    On October 14, 2022, the students got to meet virtually over Zoom! School news from Barryroe that day said about the connection:

    “What a day 6th Class had today! Taking full advantage of the fantastic boardroom facilities at Barryroe Co-op, they connected with Mrs Lisa Swanson and her 6th and 7th graders in a live zoom. Mrs Swanson’s class was responsible for setting sail the ‘Crimson Current’ boat that came ashore in Barry’s Cove recently. 6th spoke to them about life in West Cork at home and at school . They also played Amhran na bhFiann on the tin whistles, demonstrated a little hurling and taught the Morristown Beard students cupla focail! Rory from Oceansplastics and local fisherman Billie spoke to the children about their parts in the boat retrieval. It was lovely to have Billie’s daughter Katie join them today too. Thank you to parent Deirdre Noctor Griffin for her assistance in setting up the connection today.”

    After the Zoom connections, students were paired up as pen pals and began writing letters to each other, comparing notes on hobbies, sports, food, school, and their daily life.

    Pictured above are students at Morristown Beard in the US (left) and students at Barryroe National School in Ireland (right). Both pictured with letters that were sent to each other.

    The Irish students also sent a photo of the American flag flying at their school. The flag was part of the cargo that was tucked away in Crimson Current’s hull that also included an MBS baseball cap, a USA jersey, glowsticks, and essays about life in New Jersey.

    November 29, 2022

    The project made front page news of the Southern Star in Ireland on November 29: New friends are made as New Jersey school’s mini boat lands in Barryroe

    The school proudly shared this news article on their Facebook page, saying:

    “It’s not everyday we make front page news!!
    Muin Sinéad and Rang a Sé appearing on the front page of the Southern Star this week with their Mini-Boat project.
    Thank you to Martin Walsh for his help with the article.”

    Students continued to connect and learn from each other, and all plan to relaunch the Crimson Current in 2023.

    January 15, 2023

    My Paper Online published the article Morristown Teacher Guiding Class in Pen-Pal Program with School Deep in the Heart of Ireland.

  • March - May 2023: Relaunch planning

    March 9, 2023

    Rory Jackson joined the students at Barryroe National School to talk about ocean currents, weather, and shipping. Cassie Stymiest from Educational Passages also joined via Zoom to discuss where the miniboat should (and could) be launched. It’ll be up to the students to make recommendations from here, based on transit map and other information they learned.

    March 29, 2023

    Barryroe National School received another set of letters from Morristown Beard before they went on holiday. Their Facebook post says, “Another round of letters from America for the boys and girls in 6th Class…”

    May 2, 2023

    A special trip to the National Maritime College of Ireland for Barryroe’s 5th and 6th classes allowed them to learn all about ships!

     

    May 3, 2023


    More from Morristown Beard School’s blog page here about the connection: MBS 6th Graders Zoom with Students from Ireland

     

  • May - June 2023: Connecting across the Atlantic

    May 7, 2023

    Echolive.ie published a story, Transatlantic voyage for miniature sailboat creates links between Cork and US schools. It described the virtual connection that was held the week before where students shared about their field trip, and described the decorations on the new sail, and other progress.

    May 23, 2023

    The Crimson Tide was brought to the Port of Chester, PA today and loaded aboard the ICL M/V Independent Horizon. The boat will travel to its other stopovers, including the Port of Cork where it will pick up the Crimson Current. Together the miniboats will be launched back into the Gulf Stream in June.

    June 8-9, 2023

    Final preparations were made to Crimson Current on World Ocean Day (June 8) thanks to Rory, Billy and Mrs. Walsh who joined the students at Barryroe National School. They continued their work on the 9th as well.

    June 10, 2023

    Today students from Barryroe National School delivered the miniboat to the Port of Cork. They got to meet the Captain Berenek and Chief Officer Naumowicz Jaroslaw and talk about where their boat would be launched.

    Update from the school: “What a fantastic afternoon we had at the Port of Cork today handing The Crimson Current/ Réalt na Mara mini-boat over to the Captain of the Independent Horizon container ship just after it docked from Rotterdsm. Our boat will be dropped into the Atlantic Ocean along with another boat already collected from Morristown Beard School in Boston and we will be following the mini-boat’s GPS tracker with great interest over the weeks ahead. The boat has a sail half designed by our American counterparts and 6th class from Barryroe NS. The boat is signed by both 5th and 6th classes and the Hull is filled with horse-shoes, tea-bags, a Hurley and a signed Barryroe Jersey amongst lots of other items. A copy of the front page of The Southern Star, which first featured this story, was also included. It was so lovely to meet the Captain in person today and see the boat off on its next great adventure. Thank you to Múin Sinead and all of 6th Class who have really adopted and made this project their own this year. Thank you to Billy and Kate McCarthy for all their help getting the boat into our school and getting it sea-worthy again for today’s launch. Thank you also to Rory Jackson of West Cork, Oceans Plastics Project CLG for all his help during the year co-ordinating this project and ensuring the hand over went so smoothly today. Thank you to Tom McSweeney from RTE and Martin Walsh for travelling to Cork today and capturing this historic moment. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat Réalt na Mara……………”

    The event was highlighted in the Echo on June 14, Mini-boat project is ‘an ocean of educational opportunities’:

    And will be featured by Tom MacSweeney in the July edition of the Maritime Ireland podcast. Here is a snippet from the podcast and an article posted on Afloat.ie on June 15, 2023, Mini Boats Are Different But Convey a Message to the Next Marine Generation

     

    The boats will be launched together around June 24.

    June 20, 2023

    During the Graduation Ceremony at Barryroe, student Amira Griffin read a lovely poem and recalls the miniboat project as a highlight of her time at school:

     

  • June 25, 2023: Relaunched into the Gulf Stream

    June 25, 2023 – Crimson Current is relaunched with Crimson Tide

    Crimson Tide is the 1st miniboat from Morristown Beard School and was first launched in December 2012. After a trip across the Atlantic to France, the boat was redecorated and shipped back to the US in time for graduation (read above to learn more). In 2022, when the school’s 10th miniboat, Crimson Current, landed in Ireland, the students back at MBS thought to refurb and upgrade the Crimson Tide and try to launch the boats together. The Crimson Tide boarded the M/V Independent Horizon in the US, and was joined by the Crimson Current in Cork, Ireland.

    The boats remained on the ship during their port stops, until they departed Wilmington, NC at the end of June. The two miniboats were released together on June 25, 2023 thanks to Captain Bebeneck and crew. The note was as follows (and videos will be sent later):

    Please note that two boats were launched in position 36-56.7N, 072-17.5W on 25th of June 2023 at 0018 UTC.
    Weather conditions:
    Wind: SW4-5B
    Sea: 3B

  • July 1, 2023 - Recovered in Nantucket, MA

    After only SIX days at sea, the Crimson Current was picked up at sea on July 1 by Captain Brian Borgeson from Absolute Sportfishing out of Nantucket.

    We are working to reunite the boat with Crimson Tide, which was picked up at sea shortly after Crimson Current by another fishing boat!

    July 7, 2023 – Tom MacSweeney’s Maritime Ireland Radio Show July episode was published. Tom was at the Port of Cork dropoff last month to talk with all the participants in Ireland. Thanks, Tom!

  • 2024: Repairs and Relaunch

    In 2024, Lisa Swanson, who has lead the miniboat programs at Morristown Beard since then, took a sabbatical to explore the places that miniboats have gone, and help give back to her students and Educational Passages. Check out more about the first adventure, and plans for more in the latest podcast:

  • Voyage 2 Completed

    Click on the titles above to explore the story behind the 2nd voyage of Crimson Current.

3rd Voyage

  • March 2024 - Relaunch and Visit to Ireland

    March 9, 2024

    The Crimson Current was relaunched with the Crimson Tide in the early morning of March 9, 2024 south of Nantucket.

    That same day, Lisa Swanson was on her way to visit Ireland, joining Educational Passages Executive Director Cassie Stymiest and Educational Studies Intern, Juliet Fluty. The visit to Ireland was inspired and driven by the Mini Maine miniboat, which is connecting students between Maine and Co. Kerry, Ireland. Lisa came along and a trip to Cork was added to the itinerary! To learn more about the trip, check out this blog post: Miniboat Magic in Ireland – Educational Passages

    Morristown Beard School also posted a blog entry about the visit: Lisa Swanson Updates MBS Middle School on Mini-Boat Program from Ireland

    The visit to Barryroe National School was a resounding success:

    And the connection was recorded so that it could be relived and rewatched for years to come:

  • September 22, 2024: Landfall in Northern Norway

    Seeking assistance to recover an uncrewed miniboat from northern Norway

    The Crimson Current made landfall in Senja, Norway at 69.581765174866, 17.486414909363 on September 22. The area is very remote so if you have any contacts or can assist in recovering the boat please reach out to us at info@educationalpassages.org.

    An uncrewed 1.5m-long educational sailboat (“MINIBOAT,” pictured here) landed in a remote area of Northern Norway at 69.577760696411,17.470214366913 and continues to report its location via GPS (see pictures below).

     

    During the October full moon high tide, the boat shifted about 250 feet. It is on the same beach as shown here:

    Here is what the boat looked like before it was launched. The current boat condition may differ. The boat traveled unassisted over 13,884 km in 197 days. This is the 3rd voyage for the boat.

    Students and participants in the project from Barryroe, Ireland, and Morristown, New Jersey, are seeking assistance to recover it. It is part of a student project to study ocean science and provide a cultural exchange when it lands. The students would also like to see any possible pictures and videos so they can learn more about where the boat landed. Please explore this webpage here to learn more about the project and story so far.

    If you have any information about the area or can assist with recovering the uncrewed vessel, please contact Cassie from Educational Passages at cassie@educationalpassages.org. It is an uncrewed vessel, like a “message in a bottle.”

    We appreciate your help.

     

The Crimson Current is the 10th miniboat for Morristown Beard School in New Jersey. They launched their first back in 2012, the Crimson Tide. The two were relaunched together in 2023 and again in 2024. To explore all 10 stories, click here and listen to our special podcast episode: 10 Years and 10 Miniboats from Morristown Beard School.

 

2021-2022 Morristown Beard School

April 23, 2022 – Launched off M/V Independent Horizon

June 28, 2022 – Landed & Recovered in Cork, Ireland

June, 2023 – Ready for relaunch thanks to Barryroe National School students

2024 – Relaunched south of Nantucket

Explore updates on this page as the adventure continues!