Lance -the Miniboat

Abstract

The illustrated story of Lance was presented to the Marine Institute during the author’s visit to Ireland. Kaitlyn Dow tells the story of the adventures of the Lancer the miniboat, that was launched from the USA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Neil Armstrong. The miniboat project was completed as part of her secondary school project, Waterford CT Highschool from Connecticut, USA and supported by AORA-CSA who had formed a partnership in 2016 with Educational Passages mini-sailboats in the USA. The Lancer boat was fitted with a GPS tracker to monitor how it might get caught in the Atlantic's ocean currents and ended up sailing into Droim, Leitir Móir, Galway where it was found by primary school student Méabh Ní Ghionnáin. The boat was repaired by Méabh and her family and relaunched from the Marine Institute's research vessel RV Celtic Explorer on the 22nd April 2017, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.