US school’s unmanned sailing vessel reaches Wales

Laura Hodgetts
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An unmanned sailing vessel launched by pupils at the Kent School in Chestertown, Maryland, USA, in June has made landfall near Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The Osprey miniboat was spotted by a hiker walking along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, who posted a photo of it on the Kent School, Inc. Facebook page.

A second beach visitor followed and posted a note that he had found the time capsule. Since it was discovered on the beach, The Osprey has been transferred to Ysgol Greenhill School in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. The Greenhill School posted a photo of their school students in an assembly with the vessel. The two schools intended to Skype each other when the capsule was opened.

The Osprey sailing vessel at the Ysgol Greenhill School assembly

The Osprey sailing vessel at the Ysgol Greenhill School assembly

Kent School’s head of school, Nancy Mugele said: ‘The Kent School Community is eager to watch the opening live. We hope this a start of a global friendship between our schools.

‘It is wonderful that this landfall happened just days after our participation in Global Collaboration Day. It will provide another experience for our students to interact with peers from a different part of the world.’

This project was made possible with the partnership of Educational Passages and representatives of Kent School’s Parents Teachers and Friends (PTF).

The vessel was launched from New Jersey in early June and equipped with a GPS so students and friends of the project could track The Osprey’s progress across the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Educational Passages website there have been 13 launches of these unmanned sailing vessels since 2008, with one boat on its second voyage.

A spokesman said: ‘Educational Passages began as an idea from a solo-sailor. Dick Baldwin, after completing his life long dream of a solo sail, launched Educational Passages as a project to educate youngsters about the sciences of the world’s oceans.’

Data from The Osprey’s voyage will be incorporated into curricula throughout the Kent School this academic year as students explore mapping, longitude and latitude, geography, oceanography and a myriad of other topics associated with a journey across the Atlantic.

Nancy Mugele added: ‘We are deeply grateful to the PTF for spearheading this project. As a community who values lifelong learning we can gain important insights into our world when we research it in relevant ways. The Educational Passages project and The Osprey will foster global understanding amongst our students, teachers and new global friends. We look forward to a continued dialogue with our friends at Greenhill School in Tenby.’