Philbert

Columbia City Elementary School (Columbia City, OR)

Updates:

1st Voyage

S/V PHILBERT was built by the students of Mrs. Lewis’s 5th grade class at Columbia City Elementary School.

The Name

“The naming of our boat PHILBERT came after the class learned about a man in our community. I told the class about Phil, a man I knew from the Thanksgiving House. He made a big impression on me when I volunteered there. He loved sailboats. He drew them and made models, and told me many stories. Phil loved kids and supported students in our area who had special needs. He passed away last year. I thought naming our boat after him would be a special tribute, and the class agreed!”

  • Building the PHILBERT

  • January 21, 2020 - CRMM Miniboat Student Summit

    On January 21, the very first CRMM Miniboat Program Summit was held at the museum where students from Wy’east Middle School, Warrenton Grade School, and Columbia City Elementary School brought their miniboats for a sendoff celebration. 

  • March 6, 2020: Launched

    The Philbert was launched off the Coast Guard STEADFAST on March 6, 2020 along with the Boat-a-Lahti. You can see the pair on the deck of the ship as they were preparing for deployment (pictured right) and at sea during sunset (pictured below).

    By March 23, Philbert had already sailed 880 nautical miles in 17 days.

  • April 23, 2020 - Coast Guard launch crew returns to port

    The crew of the USCG Steadfast returned back to port after after 65-day counternarcotic patrol [For Press Release, click here]. On March 6, they launched the Boat a Lahti and Philbert miniboats. More pictures and videos to be posted soon!

    Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast crewmembers participate in the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Mini Boat Project while underway in the Eastern Pacific Ocean [Image 2 of 5] – “U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623) crewmembers hold the Boat-A-Lohti and Philbert, prior to launching the mini-boats constructed by students from Oregon elementary schools while the cutter was approximately 200 miles off the southern tip of Baja, Mexico, in support of the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Mini Boat Project, March 6, 2020. The project connects students from local Oregon elementary schools with their peers in Japan, by educating the students on the significance of ocean currents and weather, while the students building miniature boats to send across the ocean to one another.” US Coast Guard Photo by Chief Petty Officer Matthew Masaschi

  • August 7 - Philbert has sailed over 5,000 nm

  • March 17, 2021 - Recovered in the Marshall Islands

    The GPS unit started sending intermittent reports in February, and last reported on March 3, 2021. But then, on March 17, the miniboat Philbert sent a new message from Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands! She appears to have been recovered.

    We can’t wait to see pictures and hear more about its landing and the people who found it.

  • June 8, 2021 - Induction into the Domain of the Golden Dragon

  • June 15, 2021 - Update from Captain Mark Sterns

  • September 29, 2021 - Pictures of PHILBERT from Mili Atoll

    On October 29, the students from Columbia City who built PHILBERT, now as 8th graders, gathered to prepare a special thank you for the students on Mili Atoll:

2nd Voyage

  • September 2023: Update from Commodore Mark and Angela Stearns, S/V Uno Mas

    August 2023: Update from CRMM

    The CRMM Miniboat Program was relaunched in 2023 and a new policy on past miniboats was set forth: “The CRMM fleet will be tracked for 2 years from the launch date. After that point they will no longer be tracked. One fifth of the boats launched make it to a year or longer. We have made the decision to track for two years which only three of CRMM’s boats have made to that point or longer. If a boat is still at sea and reporting at the end of the two-year mark, the tracking will turn over to Educational Passages.”

    However, it is the hope and mission of Educational Passages that we continue connecting classrooms, no matter the fate of any miniboat. And, thanks to the support of generous donors, we were able to continue our support and see Philbert relaunched! Please enjoy the update below, and consider making a donation to help stories like this continue all around the world.

    September 2023: Update from Commodore Mark and Angela Stearns, S/V Uno Mas

    Photo from 2021: Laan Daniel, Boy Jude Henos, Eddi Janer, Calvin Chutaru, Eric Daniel, Roselise Carlson (not in order)

    SV Philbert landed in Mili Atoll, RMI in March, 2021.  This is the second Columbia River Maritime Museum miniboat that Commodore Mark and Angela Stearns, of the Mieco Beach Yacht Club, onboard sailing vessel, Uno Mas, have assisted in recovering and relaunching this year.

     

    SV Philbert was built by 5th graders from Columbia City Elementary School located in Columbia City, Oregon, in partnership with CRMM and Educational Passages. The Miniboat Program is geared towards children designing and building almost 5 foot long sailboats, learning boat building skills along with ocean current, wind and wave and navigation.  The goal is for this US based miniboat to reach Japan’s shore. Likewise, Japan has a similar program, launching miniboats built by school kids with the hopes of reaching the shores of the US. Thus, connecting school children around the world.

    Commodore Mark Stearns and Honorable Mayor Joel Jitiam

    SV Philbert has had quite the journey.  It was first launched March 6, 2020 from a USCG ship, STEADFAST, while patrolling approximately 200 miles off the coast of Baja, Mexico.  After 376 days at sea, and 9,744 nautical miles, SV Philbert reached Mili Atoll by following the ocean’s currents, wind and waves.  On March 18, 2021, SV Philbert’s GPS tracking device alerted Cassie Stymiest, Executive Director of Educational Passages who subsequently notified then CRMM Education Director, Nate Sandel that Philbert had stopped moving and had landed on shore.

    Nate next contacted us and we were surprised to learn of this second miniboat landing while we were waiting out Covid in RMI. We already were working with MIMA and MOCIA and Honorable Mayor Ankit Typhoon to relaunch miniboat SV Liberty, which had landed in Ailuk Atoll, in November, 2020. We wrote an article for the journal in June about SV Liberty’s journey, and now we are fortunate to write about SV Philbert.

    Mili’s Honorable Mayor Joel Jitiam, in June, 2021 acquired photos of Philbert, along with children of Lukunor.  The photos were sent to the miniboat program to show that Philbert was safe and sound.

    Kecia Herbin, Ranson Craham, Commodore Mark Stearns, Yoyo Daniel, Joseph Daniel. Infront: 2 kids from 2021 photos: Roselise Carlson and Laan Daniel

    We were able to sail our boat to Mili Atoll in August of this year, over 2 years later. Since it has been awhile, we were uncertain if we would be able to find SV Philbert and be able to recommission it.

    Councilman Carlson and his family helped with our endeavors as well. His family members were also part of the original children pictured.

    Commodore Mark Stearns and Honorable Mayor Joel Jitiam

    We had the great fortune of meeting Joseph Daniel while at Lukunor Island. Many of the children in the original photo were his relatives as well.  Since school is not in session during the summer, we presented a plaque to Joseph and his family, as a Thank you gift from the kids in Oregon. We were hoping to get current photos of the Lukunor children from the original picture, to send back to Oregon,  to  provide closure for Philbert’s journey.  While organizing  the picture taking, we found out that SV Philbert was on the next island!  What an unexpected  and great opportunity to have the kids’ picture taken with Philbert.  We didn’t know if Philbert was able to be relaunched, but we could at least send updated pictures.

    Plaque presented to Joseph Daniel and family from CRMM miniboat program

    Joseph Daniel along with family members escorted us to Philbert’s location.  We were surprised it was in such great shape.  Besides the photos, which were our original intention, we were able to bring Philbert onto Uno Mas and prepare it to be relaunched, continuing its journey, with the hopes of still reaching Japan.

    Uno Mas brought Philbert back to Majuro to provide further repairs, since we needed more supplies that were here and also sent from Educational Passages.

    Philbert is now ready to go back to sea and will be relaunched this week on our journey to another atoll.

    Commodore Mark Stearns with Philbert aboard the S/V Uno Mas, progress photo.

    SV Liberty stopped tracking near PNG, but hopefully, both SV Liberty and SV Philbert will be carried by the wind, waves and currents to new places.

    Please check out the Educational Passages website,  www.educationalpassages.org/atsea. ;    You can track the miniboats on the website and also donate to this amazing education program. Please help SV Liberty and SV Philbert continue their journey!

    Words cannot describe how thankful we are for the assistance from Honorable Mayor Joel Jitiam, the family of Joseph Daniel, Councilman Carlson, MIMA and MoCIA for making this possible.

    Kommol Tata, with our greatest sincerity,

    Commodore Mark and Angela Stearns

    …

    September 14, 2023: Miniboat PHILBERT is Relaunched!

    We received a text from the S/V Uno Mas’ satellite phone that PHILBERT was relaunched:

    SV Philbert has been relaunched at 1448, Sept 15, RMI time at N 10.12.591, E 168.10.105.

    Pictures and more details about the relaunch will be posted when the S/V Uno Mas crew have internet access again. For now we can all track the boat at the map above, and catch up on this incredible story that is now going to continue thanks to the Mark and Angela, and the people we have connected with in the Marshall Islands. Thanks to all!

    September 16, 2023

    After only two days at sea, Philbert found its way to Watho Atoll. It appears to have beached itself on Erotjeman Island, a pretty remote location.

Miniboat PHILBERT was originally part of the Columbia River Maritime Museum’s Miniboat Program. It was built during the 2019-2020 school year by students at Columbia City, with support from CRMM. It landed and was recovered in the Marshall Islands in 2021. Students exchanged messages and made connections, and in 2023 Commodore Mark and Angela Stearns of the S/V Uno Mas lead the task of recovering, repairing, and relaunching PHILBERT. We invite you to explore the full story here, and track with us.

Sponsorship for this miniboat is currently available, and donations are welcome and very appreciated. All donations will directly help inspire students, support educators, collect valuable data for ocean science, and connect communities around the world. 

Donate now

Educational Passages is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit.