6th Grade Sailboat, Crimson Tide, Ready to Begin a New Journey

This year, MBS 6^th Graders have been refurbishing Crimson Tide, the very first sailboat that the School launched 11 years ago as part of the Educational Passages program. On Tuesday, Middle School geography teacher Lisa Swanson took the boat to the Port of Chester where a cargo ship, The Independent Horizon, will help MBS launch its boat again.

Throughout the year, the MBS 6^th Graders have been communicating with students from the Barryroe School in Ireland, where last year’s sailboat, Crimson Current, landed.  The Barryroe students have refurbished Crimson Current, and the boat will be picked up by The Independent Horizon when the ship makes a port of call in Cork in early June.  The plan is to launch Crimson Tide and Crimson Current simultaneously in the northernmost part of the Gulf Stream.

Students from both schools decorated their boats and filled the cargo areas with meaningful items — a signed t-shirt, local sand, favorite candy, and more. MBS 6^th Graders sent Barryroe students a sail that they had decorated the bottom half – a project that would tie the schools together.

For the past 11 years, Morristown Beard School 6th Graders have launched a 5-foot, unmanned sailboat into the Atlantic as part of the Educational Passages program. In addition to teaching the students about geography and ocean currents, a significant aspect of the project hinges on the hope that students will connect with their peers across the globe when the boat reaches a foreign shore.

Stay tuned for updates!