Mini-barcos à vela levam Portugal ao mundo (Mini-sailboats take Portugal to the world)

Since the conference was held in Portugal, and it just so happened that last July a miniboat had landed there, we decided to connect with the project for the event. So, I drove up to Figueira da Foz to meet the crew at Escola Secundária Cristina Torres, who received the Raven KASTER miniboat in February. To my surprise, they hadn’t yet opened the cargo hold! What a joy it was to do this with the students, and what a warm greeting it was from everyone. I also got to meet Portuguese National Maritime Authority’s Port Captain and Local Commander of the Figueira da Foz Maritime Police Pedro Cervaens Costa, who was part of the boat recovery team last July, and other local supporters of the project.

We opened the cargo hold to find A LOT of water, but also inside we found a perfectly dry bag of Tayto potato chips from our friends in Ireland! There was also a little toy sheep (that was quickly put in a bag and brought to the laundromat shortly after) and letters from the crews in Ireland as well as the team in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The students seemed delighted. What started out as a quiet and suspenseful process turned into a room full of giggles, questions, and potato chip tasting (oh yes we did!). 

After the opening, we went to the library where I was able to share more about our work, answer questions, discuss next steps, and share the gifts that I had brought: candy. Specifically I brought Gushers because the internet told me they are not available in other countries. The students once again seemed delighted! I also gave them all “Miniboat Crew” stickers and officially welcomed them aboard our program. 

• Pictured left: The leadership team of the Raven KASTER-Portugal Crew, from left to right: Maomede Cabrá (Principal, Escola Secundária Cristina Torres), Zara Ferreira (Researcher, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre at the University of Coimbra), Cassie Stymiest (Executive Director, Educational Passages), Sandra Neves (Coordinator of Clubes Ciência Viva na Escola – Ciência Viva School Club, Escola Secundária Cristina Torres), Carla Mesquita (Physical Sciences and Chemistry teacher, Escola Secundária Cristina Torres), and Isabel Breda (English Teacher, Escola Secundária Cristina Torres); Pictured middle: From left to right, Cassie, Carla, Sandra, Isabel, in front of Praia da Costinha and the spot where the Raven KASTER landed last July (Pictured right is Cassie pointing to the spot). The Raven KASTER miniboat sailed from Ireland on April 24 to here on July 2. It was 69 days at sea, and distance traveled via GPS calculated at 3,635 km. 

After a wonderful lunch by the sea with some of the school staff, and an excursion to the beach where the Raven KASTER landed last year (see pictures above), we took the miniboat on a land voyage down to Lisbon. Two of the teachers from the school joined me: Ms. Carla Mesquita and Ms. Isabel Breda. Our primary goal was to share the project with Linaro and invite people to join the project.

Thanks to Linaro, we attended their annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal on May 16 and showed off our creative use of Arm technologies with the Raven KASTER miniboat on display at “Demo Day”. Perhaps the most interesting application we discovered is that our miniboat sensor packs are driven by Arm (specifically the Cortex M0 processor) which allows us to collect ocean science data while the boats are at sea. 

Synergies with Linaro

• Our student-built boats are ocean research vessels (thanks to Arm) which allow us to integrate a variety of sensors for optimum data collection.
• We utilize the MariaDB to manage all of our data, and many programming languages (Python, R, etc) are essential to our work.
• Educational Passages serves as a scalable model for engaging the global community in hands-on STEM learning in Portugal and around the world.

• Pictured left: Our exhibit space at Demo Day, Pictured middle: Colleagues in discussion about our work, and Pictured right: Our crew, from left to right, is Isabel Breda, Carla Mesquita, Cassie Stymiest, Robert Booth (COO of Linaro), and Mike Levine (Director of Global Talent at Linaro)

We enjoyed talking with participants about our work and learning about theirs. Big thanks to Linaro for this incredible opportunity and we look forward to future collaborations to help our students learn about these synergies in our upcoming programs.  

A reminder to Linaro attendees: 

• We invite Linaro employees to get involved in our program and inspire the next generation of Arm engineers!
• With new technologies on the horizon, let’s add more sensors, process data faster, and conserve energy and cost.
• Our miniboats provide a platform for mentorship, innovation, and inspiration. By connecting classrooms worldwide to Arm’s innovation ecosystem, we can work together to improve career pathways, drive meaningful change, and build a shared future of innovation and environmental stewardship.

There have been quite a few miniboats that have landed or been launched from Portugal over the years. Each has created friendships and encouraged meaningful collaboration. While I was in Portugal, I got to reunite and have dinner with some of these friends: Francisco Campuzano and Luís Sebastião, who were part of the finder crew for the Charger (which was the first to arrive in January 2014), and Raquel Costa, who has been “on board” the program since the arrival of West in November 2014! It was nice to share stories and talk about all the work we have accomplished together over the last 11 years, and I want to sincerely thank them both for their support and commitment to our program all this time. We also talked about some ideas for what to do in the future, and I left feeling very hopeful of our continued collaboration. 

[Then, coincidentally just days after I returned to the US, a miniboat was recovered off Madeira! So now we will definitely be continuing our collaboration as Luís helped to make arrangements for school connections once again.] 

Luís also showed me around some of the labs at the Institute for Systems and Robotics, Tecnico Lisboa. They have helped with so many projects over the years, and most recently (February 2025) with a double miniboat launch off Madeira:

“The event was attended by Engineer Luís Sebastião who, on behalf of Técnico and ISR-Lisboa, has been a crucial support in the technical development of the project, particularly in preparing the GPS transmitters. His team is also tasked with explaining how this innovative technology works, which enables the remote tracking of the boats’ paths.” Read more: ISR-Lisboa helps relaunch small boats in the Atlantic Ocean – Institute For Systems and Robotics

On Friday morning before the Linaro event, Luís coordinated a meeting with FLAD (Fundação Luso-Americana, the Luso-American Foundation) which “is a bridge between Portugal and the United States of America, focusing on Science, Education, Culture and Transatlantic Relations”. Back in 2022, FLAD sponsored the relaunch of miniboat Maurick – it’s 5th voyage – which also helped to connect a school in Santa Maria, Azores, and Massachusetts, USA. With more miniboat activity in Portugal over the years, we are looking for opportunities to support collaboration between the schools that send the boats and those that receive them, so it was nice to meet with FLAD and discuss possible synergies. 

And speaking of Maurick… I meet Helena Batista (the lead of the project in Santa Maria, Azores) the next day! She happened to be on the mainland visiting family, so I stopped by and we had coffee together. We also talked about how we might put a project together to collaborate on some relaunches! In the Azores, there’s: Wildcat Wave, Daniel, Lady Lance, Teal Turtle, Square Mile, Carolina Dreamer, and Olive Oyl! 

which was set to sea by students in Westbrook, Maine back in 2013. In November 2014, it approached the Penedo da Saudade Lighthouse (São Pedro de Moel) after 11,000 miles. Thanks to Luís and Francisco as mentioned above, along with the rest of the finder crew, it was recovered and brought to two schools in Nazaré. Many partners came together and this started the project: “WEST takes Portugal to the World”. 

I joined Educational Passages in 2017, when West was getting ready for another Atlantic voyage. Since then, I have seen it connect thousands of people and know that some hold it very close in their hearts (including me). So when I was driving back to Lisbon after bringing the Raven KASTER crew back to Figueira da Foz on Saturday, I stopped in Nazaré. I remembered the iconic video of the recovery in the waves (pictured left) and at the base of the lighthouse I immediately recognized the spot (see picture above).

I called Daryn to share the moment since we’ve been talking about “MINIBOAT MAGIC” lately – and this felt like a magical moment. There’s just something about being able to see these places in person that brings the story to life… and I also got to meet Raquel’s dog, West (yes, named after the miniboat!), and hear all about the early days of the project. 

It’s amazing how so many connections have been made over the years, since the very first miniboat in Portugal arrived in 2014… and these are only a few of the stories! I think it really goes to show that mini-barcos à vela levam Portugal ao mundo (mini-sailboats take Portugal to the world).

There was lots to explore and see in Lisbon as well: Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries) on the Tagus River, the Jeronimos Monastery, the Pastéis de Belém factory where you can watch the delicious pastries made by hand (we had two orders!), driving under the Águas Livres Aqueduct, the incredible views throughout the city, the architecture, the food, and the beautiful flowers scattered all around.

I can’t wait to go back again…

~ Cassie