Crimson Current is recovered in Norway after landing 10 months ago
The Crimson Current miniboat story is full of connection. What started as the 10th miniboat built by students at Morristown Beard School in New Jersey in 2022, has since had three incredible voyages. The most recent voyage ended after 196 days at sea back on September 21, 2024 on the shores of northern Norway. But it wasn’t recovered until this week on July 21, exactly 10 months later. Stein and Per Grov Eilertsen recovered the vessel, which had survived the Arctic winter on the rocks in the high tide zone.
Listen to the story in the new podcast below, and/or read on further…
The recovery would not have happened without Mr. Rory Jackson, a local whale watch lead and educator in Cork, Ireland who first joined the project back in 2022 when it first arrived there. Ever since, he has helped students from both countries connect and learn, and he has never given up on recovering the boat from Norway. 
After much outreach and thanks to Rowan MacSweeney for other attempts (pictured right is the beach and landing spot of the boat during winter when the beach was unapproachable), another contact came through from Tromso: Per. Per’s brother Stein had a sailboat and was going to be up in the area while on holiday at his home in Flakstadvåg.
On July 16, the first attempt was abandoned due to sea conditions being too rough on the shore where it landed at Gilbergvika. Another attempt was made on July 21 using Per’s smaller motorboat and an inflatable dinghy, and this recovery mission was successful. 
The boat is pictured below, and you can watch the full recovery video on Stein’s blog here: The Crimson Current Rescue | nordlandsbunad.
This is one of the most remarkable recovery stories for Educational Passages, showcasing the determination and perseverance of its captains and crew, as well as the durability of the boat itself. With most boats after one tide cycle on the rocks getting completely damaged, the Crimson Current looks remarkably repairable. And Rory Jackson is set to visit in November to assess the situation and see if that is possible.
First, the priority is to connect all the classes and countries together: USA, Ireland, and Norway around our one shared ocean. So stay tuned!
The History of the Crimson Current
The first voyage of the Crimson Current ended in Cork, Ireland, where it was found in a cave by a local fisherman and brought to nearby Barryroe National School. The students in the US and Ireland have been connected ever since. After a year in the classroom, the Crimson Current was relaunched for a second voyage (and by the same ship: the M/V Independent Horizon) along with its sistership, the Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide is actually the Morristown Beard’s very first miniboat, which traveled all the way to France originally. Both the Crimson Tide and Crimson Current were repaired during the 2022-2023 school year and launched together on June 25, 2023.
The hope was for the boats to travel across the ocean again, but the weather had other plans. After only 6 days at sea, both boats were picked up just off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. They were brought to the island and eventually found their way to Nantucket Intermediate School and the caring hands of STEM teacher Annie Weber. In February 2024, Morristown Beard School’s very own miniboat captain, Lisa Swanson, traveled to Nantucket along with Educational Passages Executive Director, Cassie Stymiest. As a team they all worked to repair and reseal the boats, and then brought them to the mainland for the next adventure. Listen to our podcast episode Team is the Dream: Relaunch Adventures from Nantucket and more for all the details.
The Crimson Current was relaunched with the Crimson Tide in the early morning of March 9, 2024 south of Nantucket by the F/V Constance Sea (pictured left). That same day, Lisa and Cassie were on their way to Ireland to meet the crew at Barryroe National School. To learn more about that trip, check out this blog post: Miniboat Magic in Ireland.
The students tracked the boat for 196 days across the Atlantic, learning about wind, currents, and the ocean it traversed. Now that the boat is recovered, students in the US and Ireland will welcome aboard students from Norway and continue their connections and learning.
For more information, visit: https://educationalpassages.org/boats/crimsoncurrent/
