PUFFINSTUFF

Columbia River Maritime Museum

Updates:

1st Voyage

​CRMM Miniboat Program Relaunched in 2023

The Columbia River Maritime Museum Miniboat Program, in partnership with Educational Passages, is a free-to-schools multidisciplinary STEAM learning experience for 4th- to 6th-grade classes in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon.  The program was formed in 2017 and over the course of the initial five years the following organizations have assisted in development and/or financially:  Consular Office of Japan in Portland, Educational Passages, Pacific Power Foundation, Northwest Stem Hub, West Marine BlueFuture Fund, U.S. Coast Guard, NYK (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) Line, and individuals.  In the first five years the program launched 37 miniboats from the USA to Japan.

Following a year pause for evaluation this program relaunched in 2023 with a dedicated staff member and closer alignment with CRMM’s mission. CRMM’s Boat Educator visits one classroom for 10 weekly lessons covering general maritime learning, latitude/longitude, currents, traditional boat building (including Indigenous influence via the assistance of tribal members), and lots of kinesthetic learning. The 11th weekly visit is the christening ceremony with much pomp and circumstance then then boat is turned over to the launching vessel. In the following three months the class will receive monthly visits to continue learning about the Pacific Ocean and the abundance of cultures the vessel may sail past or interact with. Each launched miniboat is equipped with a GPS that classes can follow. For more information about CRMM’s Miniboat Program please visit: https://www.crmm.org/miniboat-program.html and explore the adventures of miniboat PUFFINSTUFF on this page.

  • August-September 2023 Preparations

    S/V PUFFINSTUFF is the vessel built to relaunch the miniboat program at Columbia River Maritime Museum in 2023. The museum community voted on the design in July, staff assembled it in August, and local parents and students filled the hold and painted the sail in September.

     

  • October 11, 2023: Deployed in the Bering Sea

    On October 2, 2023, PUFFINSTUFF was delivered to NYK in the ship Sakura Leader with Captain Suzuki.

    We had planned to launch south of the Aleutian Islands, but a weather pattern diverted the Sakura Leader into the Bering Sea. PUFFINSTUFF was launched on October 11, 2023 at 00:23 UTC and the crew shared details and photos soon after:

    Date & Time: 1323SMT October 10, 2023 (0023UTC October 11, 2023)

    Location:  54-38.9 N, 179-20.1 W

    Weather Conditions

    Weather: Cloudy

    Wind: SW, BF6 (24 k’ts)

    Swell: WSW’ly low swell (abt. 1.0 m)

    Aneroid Barometer: 1013.0 hPa

     

    Thank you to the crew!

  • April 2024 Update: Weather report from NOAA NDBC Station 46070

    We spotted a Facebook post from NOAA NDBC about a big wave in the Bering Sea at the beginning of April, and upon closer inspection noticed that the buoy was not far from Puffin’ Stuff. Here’s an update that Olive sent around to CRMM about the news:

    “We’ve been following PuffinStuff’s path since October 2023, but it has recently gone quiet. A nearby weather buoy recorded 45 foot seas and 60 kt winds on April 2nd, which is likely the reason that PuffinStuff is no longer reporting. It’s difficult to tell what happens now, perhaps PuffinStuff is a neat new condo for fish at the bottom of the Bering, yet it hopefully will report again or be found. In any case, PuffinStuff went through a whole winter in the Bering, a feat of endurance to be sure!”

    Check out the report yourself from the embedded post below, and explore the NOAA NDBC station 46070 here to see what is happening in the area.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum Miniboat Program, in partnership with Educational Passages, is a free-to-schools multidisciplinary STEAM learning experience for 4th- to 6th-grade classes in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon.  The program was formed in 2017 and over the course of the initial five years the following organizations have assisted in development and/or financially:  Consular Office of Japan in Portland, Educational Passages, Pacific Power Foundation, Northwest Stem Hub, West Marine BlueFuture Fund, U.S. Coast Guard, NYK (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) Line, and individuals.  In the first five years the program launched 37 miniboats from the USA to Japan.

For more information about CRMM’s Miniboat Program please visit: https://www.crmm.org/miniboat-program.html