After nearly five decades of ocean exploration and over 700 scientific missions, the R/V Endeavor made her final return to the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay campus on September 20, marking the end of an extraordinary era. Educational Passages was honored to join in the celebration as the beloved vessel came home from her last voyage—which was carrying something very special aboard… the M/B DMS Anita! Hear more:
All thanks to the Endeavor, its crew, and staff at URI GSO, the following NINE miniboat adventures became a reality since 2021:
1. BLUE HERON
After two quick voyages in 2020, the M/B BLUE HERON (from Portland, ME) needed to get launched further out so it could have a longer voyage. The R/V Endeavor was heading out in February 2021 to Florida, where it would cross the gulf stream. The c
rew had already planned to launch a student drifter from a Rhode Island school, so we reached out about pairing them up: One could show the wind (miniboats) and the other the currents (drifter). Gabe, the marine tech for the cruise, was super helpful and happy to help launch both. On February 21, 2021 the pair was set to sea. The miniboat traveled for almost two years, but the GPS stopped reporting (the battery died because it was at sea so long – this was before we used solar powered transmitters).
2. SQUARE MILE
During the summer of 2021, Educational Passages partnered up with the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) and the Central Falls School District (thanks to the support from the Devereux Ocean Foundation). The goal was to give 3rd and 4th graders a hands-on ocean science experience by building a miniboat, which they named M/B SQUARE MILE. During the build, graduate and elementary students worked together on ocean-themed activities while constructing the vessel. The miniboat was launched into the Atlantic from the RV Endeavor in early October by the High School teacher Allison Murray, who was the teacher at sea! Equipped with sensors installed by the High School students, the Square Mile collected data and transmitted its location during its voyage. After 248 days at sea, the boat was recovered off the coast of the Azores on June 8, 2022—World Ocean Day—and is now housed at the Observatório do Mar dos Açores in Horta, Portugal, with hopes for a future relaunch.
3. INSPIRATION
The M/B INSPIRATION was the second miniboat created by Central Falls’ students (in partnership with URI GSO (and thanks to The Devereux Foundation) in 2022. It was also equipped with sensors to collect data and transmit during its voyage. The R/V Endeavor launched the miniboat on March 26, 2022 during a scientific cruise. After 245 days at sea, it crossed the Atlantic and landed in Christchurch, U.K. Students from a nearby school unpacked the contents and connected virtually with the original crew. It was repaired by the Mudeford Sea Scouts and sent to the Canary Islands for relaunch by Captain Jason in December 2024. It was found by a fisherman off Madeira, Portugal on May 21, 2025. Teams are now working to connect the participating schools from the U.S., U.K., and Portugal to continue the collaborative learning journey.
4 & 5. ROWE RIDA
Students at Burrillville High School involved in the Environmental Science Pathway designed and built their miniboat, naming it the M/B ROWE RIDA. The R/V Endeavor crew launched the Rowe RIda on May 13, 2022 during a scientific cruise, and right near a Saildrone that was being used for ocean research. But just after one week at sea, the miniboat sailed into Vineyard Sound. The following day, the teacher and his friend Joe set out aboard the KSEA to retrieve it—requiring a quick swim from Mr. Rowe, but resulting in a successful recovery of the miniboat.
This launch and collaboration also inspired an article to be written and published in the Journal of Ocean Technology: Collecting to Connect: Student-built Miniboats Contributing to Ocean Science Research (Vol. 17, No. 3, 2022).
The Rowe RIda set sail once again in July 2023. Again from the R/V Endeavor, but this time as part of the NES LTER (Northeast U.S. Shelf Long-Term Ecological Research) summer transect cruise. The relaunch, supported by URI GSO, WHOI, NSF, and the U.S. LTER program, marked another collaborative effort to engage students and educators in hands-on ocean science, connecting classroom learning with real-world marine research. This time the miniboat went across the Gulf of Maine and landed in Nova Scotia in August. It was recovered and relaunched in October, sailing back down the way it came and landing on Martha’s Vineyard in November and was returned to Burrillville High School for much needed repairs.
The second voyage of Rowe RIda was also included in the 2022-2023 NES LTER (Northeast US Shelf Long Term Ecological Research) Data Jam Competition, and the winners of competition that year chose to explore the miniboat data for their project! The data set remains part of the jam and is available for all to explore:
6. TMS SEA CHALLENGER
In February 2023, the 3rd miniboat from the Educational Passages and URI GSO partnership was built with students from Frank E. Thompson Middle School in Newport, Rhode Island. They named it the M/B TMS SEA CHALLENGER. Seventh graders completed every step—from ballasting and painting to installing sensors. They presented their project at the Ocean Race Newport Stopover in May 2023 at the URI GSO booth. In June, the boat was launched from the R/V Endeavor during the STEMSEAS cruise. The school displayed a large map in the cafeteria for weekly tracking updates, engaging over 500 students daily. In September, the TMS Sea Challenger landed in a remote and rocky spot of northern Nova Scotia. Surveys and travelers volunteered to hike along the rugged coastline to recover the vessel’s remains, discovering that the students’ items inside the hatch had survived the journey intact.
Then, in February 2024, some of the TMS students as 8th graders (Violet, Kelly, Zakyra, Theresa, Charlotte, and Abigail), presented a poster at the AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Their teacher, Taylor Rock, led the way and even set up a fundraiser to cover the students’ travel and registration costs.
Embracing the Challenge: The Future Generation of Ocean Scientists set Sail Through the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Miniboat Program. (2024). AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024.
7 & 8. DMS ANITA
In May 2023, a group of middle school students from Dudley, Massachusetts, visited The Ocean Race in Newport, Rhode Island—a trip that sparked a years-long ocean adventure. They saw the M/B TMS Sea Challenger on display and were inspired after meeting the TNS students as well as scientists from URI GSO. After the trip, their teacher partnered with Educational Passages to build their own vessel, which they named the DMS Anita, thanks to support from MIT Sea Grant’s STREAM program. It was launched from the R/V Endeavor in May 2024. After a week long voyage to Massachusetts, Anita was relaunched on World Ocean Day during the RITAS cruise. It journeyed up to Nova Scotia where it was recovered by a local fisherman and brought to a nearby school. In September 2025, while in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Endeavor’s crew picked the miniboat up once again and brought it safely back to Rhode Island.
Read all about this journey and its bittersweet return home and reunion with its original crew: The Albatross (PODCAST)
9. LANCER
Since its first launch in 2016, the M/B LANCER has connected students and communities across five countries through three ocean voyages. During the 2023–24 school year, students at Waterford High School in Connecticut (the same school that originally built her in 2016) refurbished the miniboat to prepare it for a fourth journey. In September 2024, it joined scientists aboard the R/V Endeavor for the NES LTER cruise and was launched on September 8 alongside a MakerBuoy drifter to replicate its original mission. Equipped with matching sensors, the two vessels gathered data for students to analyze and compare. The voyage took an unexpected turn south, with the Lancer eventually landing on a sandy beach in North Carolina, where it was discovered by students at Waters Edge Village School in Corolla—continuing its legacy of connecting classrooms across oceans through hands-on ocean exploration.
“By carrying these student-built vessels offshore, Endeavor connects classrooms directly to the ocean, extending STEM learning into a global context.”
