September 11, 2025 • 11 mins
Season 4 of the Educational Passages Podcast continues with our “Imagine This” series - Where the magic of miniboats come alive through the voices and visions of those who make it all possible.
Each episode will paint a vivid picture of discovery, connection, and curiosity — not just tracking the voyages, but exploring the challenges and unexpected outcomes behind them.
Now press play, close your eyes, and imagine this:
What happens when a high school marine biology class sets out to build a tiny boat and release it into the Atlantic? An extraordinary three-year odyssey ensues... It's about more than just tracking ocean currents, this project evolved into a powerful lesson about persistence, collaboration, and global connection.
Listen in for the full story and find out where it ended up!
Visit https://educationalpassages.org/boats/seaeagle/ for more information about the boat and project, as well as https://educationalpassages.org/boats/gryphoncruiser/ and https://educationalpassages.org/boats/hope/ for more information about the other boats mentioned in the podcast.
Educational Passages is a non-profit organization that seeks to connect people around the world to the ocean and each other through unique global experiences.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cassie (00:07):
Welcome to the Educational Passages podcast.
Educational Passages is anonprofit organization that
seeks to connect people aroundthe world to the ocean and each
other through unique globalexperiences.
I'm your host, Cassie Stymiest.
Welcome everybody to Season 4.
Get ready to set sail on abrand new adventure as we launch
(00:29):
our Imagine this series wherethe magic of miniboats come
alive through the voices andvisions of those who make it all
possible.
In this series, each episodewill paint a vivid picture of
discovery, connection andcuriosity not just tracking the
voyages, but exploring thechallenges and unexpected
outcomes behind them.
Now press play.
(00:50):
Close your eyes and imaginethis.
The Sea Eagle has landedSeptember 2nd 2022.
A mini boat in a box is mailedto Jacksonville, florida, for Ms
Janet Buford's marine biologystudents at Episcopal School of
Jacksonville, who are ready tostart their adventure and learn
(01:10):
all about ocean currents.
Just two days later, a miniboat named Hope happened to find
its way to a beach just 14miles east of their school.
Hope had been relaunched offthe coast and all were hoping it
would travel into the GulfStream, but after only two days
and 15 hours at sea, it foundits way to Jacksonville.
(01:31):
The kit arrives - their new,unassembled boat at the school
two days after this, onSeptember 6th.
Their blank canvas.
On September 8th I got an emailfrom Janet that said "Hope is
safe at ESJ and that they openedher up, and my high school
students especially love thenotes and pics from the children
.
We should be adding somegoodies to the hall early next
(01:53):
week.
This presented a truly uniqueopportunity for the students to
see what a completed mini boatlooks like and provided the
opportunity to connect with theclass back in Boston,
massachusetts, where Hope wasoriginally from.
The students in Jacksonvillework every day to turn their
blank campus into the Sea Eagle,a nod to their school's mascot,
the Eagle.
(02:13):
They build their boat,ballasting and installing the
keel, decorate it, assemblemessages and treasures for the
finder and put them in the cargohold.
They decorate the sail with aJacksonville Jaguar, florida
Orange Blossoms and theEpiscopal E.
Their boat is ready by themiddle of November and so it's
time to talk launch.
But knowing that Hope waslaunched twice, I should add, in
(02:36):
good spots but came back toFlorida in only days, we all
wanted to make sure that the SeaEagle could get out far enough
while there was good weather.
December comes in a blink of aneye.
The GPS units were tested andall was ready to go, but no
launch.
Mid-january there's anotherpotential launch opportunity,
but again it just doesn't workout.
(02:56):
Same thing in March, but thenon April 10th, another mini boat
arrives in Florida, this timein Daytona, about 80 miles south
of where Hope had landed.
This one is the Gyphon Cruiserfrom Beaufort, South Carolina.
It had been launched off thecoast of South Carolina only two
days and 16 hours before.
(03:18):
You may be wondering how a boatwent south from South Carolina
to Florida.
Well, it was to our surprise aswell, and shows the power of
the weather and currents.
And although her voyage wasjust as short as hopes, this
landing provided anotheropportunity for students to
connect.
Even further, Gryphon Cruiser'smast had been damaged, so its
(03:40):
captain, Ms Ann Ritchie, wasgiven a professional day from
the principal and drives down toretrieve it so they could make
repairs and relaunch it.
As Ann and I were talking, Iasked if she'd be willing and
interested in picking up the twoboats in Jacksonville during
her trip so that all three couldbe launched together further up
into the Gulf Stream andtherefore a better chance of
longer journeys.
(04:00):
Ann said something like well,if I'm grabbing one, why not
grab another or two.
So I quickly connected Anne andJanet together with really only
a couple days notice and onApril 26, the students in
Jacksonville warmly welcomedAnne to their campus.
They even commented on email anhour before her arrival and
(04:22):
said that they were so excitedto finally see this boat head
off our campus and eventuallyout to sea.
Ann picks up the two boats inJacksonville Sea Eagle and Hope.
She meets Janet and thestudents and they send the boats
off with Ann.
Ann continues driving down toDaytona and picks up the Gryphon
Cruiser as well.
She drives them all back in hertruck on a custom cradle that
(04:45):
her husband built.
All three boats get resealedand ready to go by the middle of
May.
They're dropped off withCharleston Harbor Master and our
good friend Jay Stewart.
Jay is well connected to lotsof ships coming in and out of
Charleston Harbor and he said hecould place them all on a
container ship within the week,but only three days later they
were all on their way.
(05:06):
Hope is loaded on the MVHawaiian Highway which is headed
for the UK.
It was launched on May 21st andspends 53 days at sea, mostly
in the Gulf Stream, but then gotknocked out and sailed to Maine
.
It was recovered safely and isactually now back at the USS
Constitution Museum where itoriginally started.
Gryphon Cruiser and Sea Eagleare loaded together on a
(05:29):
container ship headed forSuriname.
The MV Flevogracht.
Sea Eagle is launched on May20th at 22:05 UTC and the
Gryphon Cruiser 15 minutes laterat 22:20 UTC.
Two days after the launch, astorm comes through and we
thought the pair was headingback right to Jacksonville.
(05:50):
They were riding waves over twoand a half meters and winds
were pushing them southwest fora few days, but luckily they
take a turn eastward and findtheir way into Gulf Stream.
Phew!On June 1st, as the school year
comes to an end, the schoolshares about their project and
their reflections.
"I think the bigger lesson hereturned out to be a lesson in
(06:12):
patience and perseverance, saidMrs Buford.
Aside from this, studentsreally learned the meaning of it
Takes a Village, beginning withGraham Riley's support and
ending with a boat captain of acontainer ship headed to
Suriname.
Students were able to get aglimpse of true collaboration,
And the adventure continues overthe summer.
At the end of the month, janetsays "I've been checking her
(06:34):
whereabouts every morning.
Such fun, and the students weretracking her too.
On June 28th Gryphon Cruiserends up in Nantucket,
massachusetts.
Another effect of the wind andcurrent, certainly, but could
that 15-minute difference inlaunch time really make that
much of a difference?
Because, sea Eagle, she kept ongoing.
(06:54):
By September 2023, one yearafter the adventure began, the
Sea Eagle is in the middle ofthe Atlantic.
The Sea Eagle is in the middleof the Atlantic
In March 2024, I'm in Ireland,visiting schools around the
country, talking about miniboats that have found their way
to Irish shores, and the SeaEagle seems to be approaching.
It comes within less than 100nautical miles, but goes .
(07:19):
south forIt heads into the Bay of Biscay
for the summer, circles aroundsoutheast and goes up the coast
of France, coming within justtwo miles in February 2025, from
landing in Brittany.
But nope, she keeps on goinginto the English Channel.
Will she catch the tide andsail further, like Inspiration
did years before?
Nope,.
(07:40):
she She goes west, hangs out fora bit, seemingly going nowhere.
Will she go back north toIreland, back into the English
Channel?
Nope, she goes south, rightback down the very same path as
she came up the coast of Franceon earlier and all the way to
the coast of Spain, turning eastagain.
She comes within five nauticalmiles from the border of Spain
(08:04):
and France and decides tocontinue eastward.
It's September 2025, now, threeyears after the kit arrived at
the Jacksonville school as ablank canvas.
Their boat is now an intrepidexplorer, the Sea Eagle.
She comes as close as two milesagain, and so I called Janet on
September 4th.
(08:25):
Tonight could be the night Idon't want to jinx it, but we
were all just so excited.
The next morning on September5th, I awake to an email who
says "I'm a lifeguard at Cap deLomé Beach in L'Itemix, france.
My name is Baptiste Duportet.
I found your boat.
I immediately reply and sharethis with Janet.
(08:46):
Janet starts to contact her alumas she was still connected to
many of them.
They respond with excitementand surprise.
One student named Henry, whowas a junior at the start of the
project, is now in his secondyear at Jacksonville University.
He said "it's amazing to seethe shape that Sea Eagle is in
and this is great, seeing theboat I participated in building
(09:08):
go this far.
Another student, caden, who isnow a junior at the University
of Florida, had this to say Ibuilt this little boat back in
12th grade and sent it off.
Honestly, I figured it wouldsink in a week, but instead it
decided to take the world'slongest senior trip.
Guess it wanted a study abroadprogram more than I did.
It's so great to hear that someof the students have been
(09:31):
following right along with usthis whole time.
The day the mini boat madelandfall, the local police in
France shared a video andpictures of the boat on social
media.
Her mast and sail are gone,(which is no surprise given the
way she traveled the last couplemonths, actually), she was
covered in barnacles on the hull(but not completely covered,
which is amazing for how muchtime she spent at sea), But the
(09:54):
contents were completely dry.
All the messages and gifts fromthe students were there In the
video.
They share the findings,history stuff, a school pin, a
coin, a bell from the school,explanations about the project
and a note for the finder, evenin French.
After the weekend I wasinterviewed by the local radio
(10:14):
station there and made a plea tothe students in France, asking
them to respond.
While the students in Floridaare feeling a sense of
successful completion now thatthe voyage is over, I just think
there's more to the story andconnection and can't wait for
them to correspond with eachother directly.
But their original learning goalwas exactly this" to track the
(10:36):
boat's journey as we studiedcurrents throughout the year,
and so, since Sea Eagle traveled2.3 years covering 14,000
kilometers across the ocean, fornow I'd have to just say
mission accomplished.
(11:05):
You have been listening to theEducational Passages podcast.
Thank you toeducationalpassagesorg slash
support.
If you're enjoying this program, please consider subscribing to
(11:26):
the podcast in Apple Podcasts,spotify, google Podcasts or from
wherever you download yourpodcasts.
Thanks for listening, thank you.
Welcome to the Educational Passages podcast.
Educational Passages is anonprofit organization that
seeks to connect people aroundthe world to the ocean and each
other through unique globalexperiences.
I'm your host, Cassie Stymiest.
Welcome everybody to Season 4.
Get ready to set sail on abrand new adventure as we launch
(00:29):
our Imagine this series wherethe magic of miniboats come
alive through the voices andvisions of those who make it all
possible.
In this series, each episodewill paint a vivid picture of
discovery, connection andcuriosity not just tracking the
voyages, but exploring thechallenges and unexpected
outcomes behind them.
Now press play.
(00:50):
Close your eyes and imaginethis.
The Sea Eagle has landedSeptember 2nd 2022.
A mini boat in a box is mailedto Jacksonville, florida, for Ms
Janet Buford's marine biologystudents at Episcopal School of
Jacksonville, who are ready tostart their adventure and learn
(01:10):
all about ocean currents.
Just two days later, a miniboat named Hope happened to find
its way to a beach just 14miles east of their school.
Hope had been relaunched offthe coast and all were hoping it
would travel into the GulfStream, but after only two days
and 15 hours at sea, it foundits way to Jacksonville.
(01:31):
The kit arrives - their new,unassembled boat at the school
two days after this, onSeptember 6th.
Their blank canvas.
On September 8th I got an emailfrom Janet that said "Hope is
safe at ESJ and that they openedher up, and my high school
students especially love thenotes and pics from the children
.
We should be adding somegoodies to the hall early next
(01:53):
week.
This presented a truly uniqueopportunity for the students to
see what a completed mini boatlooks like and provided the
opportunity to connect with theclass back in Boston,
massachusetts, where Hope wasoriginally from.
The students in Jacksonvillework every day to turn their
blank campus into the Sea Eagle,a nod to their school's mascot,
the Eagle.
(02:13):
They build their boat,ballasting and installing the
keel, decorate it, assemblemessages and treasures for the
finder and put them in the cargohold.
They decorate the sail with aJacksonville Jaguar, florida
Orange Blossoms and theEpiscopal E.
Their boat is ready by themiddle of November and so it's
time to talk launch.
But knowing that Hope waslaunched twice, I should add, in
(02:36):
good spots but came back toFlorida in only days, we all
wanted to make sure that the SeaEagle could get out far enough
while there was good weather.
December comes in a blink of aneye.
The GPS units were tested andall was ready to go, but no
launch.
Mid-january there's anotherpotential launch opportunity,
but again it just doesn't workout.
(02:56):
Same thing in March, but thenon April 10th, another mini boat
arrives in Florida, this timein Daytona, about 80 miles south
of where Hope had landed.
This one is the Gyphon Cruiserfrom Beaufort, South Carolina.
It had been launched off thecoast of South Carolina only two
days and 16 hours before.
(03:18):
You may be wondering how a boatwent south from South Carolina
to Florida.
Well, it was to our surprise aswell, and shows the power of
the weather and currents.
And although her voyage wasjust as short as hopes, this
landing provided anotheropportunity for students to
connect.
Even further, Gryphon Cruiser'smast had been damaged, so its
(03:40):
captain, Ms Ann Ritchie, wasgiven a professional day from
the principal and drives down toretrieve it so they could make
repairs and relaunch it.
As Ann and I were talking, Iasked if she'd be willing and
interested in picking up the twoboats in Jacksonville during
her trip so that all three couldbe launched together further up
into the Gulf Stream andtherefore a better chance of
longer journeys.
(04:00):
Ann said something like well,if I'm grabbing one, why not
grab another or two.
So I quickly connected Anne andJanet together with really only
a couple days notice and onApril 26, the students in
Jacksonville warmly welcomedAnne to their campus.
They even commented on email anhour before her arrival and
(04:22):
said that they were so excitedto finally see this boat head
off our campus and eventuallyout to sea.
Ann picks up the two boats inJacksonville Sea Eagle and Hope.
She meets Janet and thestudents and they send the boats
off with Ann.
Ann continues driving down toDaytona and picks up the Gryphon
Cruiser as well.
She drives them all back in hertruck on a custom cradle that
(04:45):
her husband built.
All three boats get resealedand ready to go by the middle of
May.
They're dropped off withCharleston Harbor Master and our
good friend Jay Stewart.
Jay is well connected to lotsof ships coming in and out of
Charleston Harbor and he said hecould place them all on a
container ship within the week,but only three days later they
were all on their way.
(05:06):
Hope is loaded on the MVHawaiian Highway which is headed
for the UK.
It was launched on May 21st andspends 53 days at sea, mostly
in the Gulf Stream, but then gotknocked out and sailed to Maine
.
It was recovered safely and isactually now back at the USS
Constitution Museum where itoriginally started.
Gryphon Cruiser and Sea Eagleare loaded together on a
(05:29):
container ship headed forSuriname.
The MV Flevogracht.
Sea Eagle is launched on May20th at 22:05 UTC and the
Gryphon Cruiser 15 minutes laterat 22:20 UTC.
Two days after the launch, astorm comes through and we
thought the pair was headingback right to Jacksonville.
(05:50):
They were riding waves over twoand a half meters and winds
were pushing them southwest fora few days, but luckily they
take a turn eastward and findtheir way into Gulf Stream.
Phew!On June 1st, as the school year
comes to an end, the schoolshares about their project and
their reflections.
"I think the bigger lesson hereturned out to be a lesson in
(06:12):
patience and perseverance, saidMrs Buford.
Aside from this, studentsreally learned the meaning of it
Takes a Village, beginning withGraham Riley's support and
ending with a boat captain of acontainer ship headed to
Suriname.
Students were able to get aglimpse of true collaboration,
And the adventure continues overthe summer.
At the end of the month, janetsays "I've been checking her
(06:34):
whereabouts every morning.
Such fun, and the students weretracking her too.
On June 28th Gryphon Cruiserends up in Nantucket,
massachusetts.
Another effect of the wind andcurrent, certainly, but could
that 15-minute difference inlaunch time really make that
much of a difference?
Because, sea Eagle, she kept ongoing.
(06:54):
By September 2023, one yearafter the adventure began, the
Sea Eagle is in the middle ofthe Atlantic.
The Sea Eagle is in the middleof the Atlantic
In March 2024, I'm in Ireland,visiting schools around the
country, talking about miniboats that have found their way
to Irish shores, and the SeaEagle seems to be approaching.
It comes within less than 100nautical miles, but goes .
(07:19):
south forIt heads into the Bay of Biscay
for the summer, circles aroundsoutheast and goes up the coast
of France, coming within justtwo miles in February 2025, from
landing in Brittany.
But nope, she keeps on goinginto the English Channel.
Will she catch the tide andsail further, like Inspiration
did years before?
Nope,.
(07:40):
she She goes west, hangs out fora bit, seemingly going nowhere.
Will she go back north toIreland, back into the English
Channel?
Nope, she goes south, rightback down the very same path as
she came up the coast of Franceon earlier and all the way to
the coast of Spain, turning eastagain.
She comes within five nauticalmiles from the border of Spain
(08:04):
and France and decides tocontinue eastward.
It's September 2025, now, threeyears after the kit arrived at
the Jacksonville school as ablank canvas.
Their boat is now an intrepidexplorer, the Sea Eagle.
She comes as close as two milesagain, and so I called Janet on
September 4th.
(08:25):
Tonight could be the night Idon't want to jinx it, but we
were all just so excited.
The next morning on September5th, I awake to an email who
says "I'm a lifeguard at Cap deLomé Beach in L'Itemix, france.
My name is Baptiste Duportet.
I found your boat.
I immediately reply and sharethis with Janet.
(08:46):
Janet starts to contact her alumas she was still connected to
many of them.
They respond with excitementand surprise.
One student named Henry, whowas a junior at the start of the
project, is now in his secondyear at Jacksonville University.
He said "it's amazing to seethe shape that Sea Eagle is in
and this is great, seeing theboat I participated in building
(09:08):
go this far.
Another student, caden, who isnow a junior at the University
of Florida, had this to say Ibuilt this little boat back in
12th grade and sent it off.
Honestly, I figured it wouldsink in a week, but instead it
decided to take the world'slongest senior trip.
Guess it wanted a study abroadprogram more than I did.
It's so great to hear that someof the students have been
(09:31):
following right along with usthis whole time.
The day the mini boat madelandfall, the local police in
France shared a video andpictures of the boat on social
media.
Her mast and sail are gone,(which is no surprise given the
way she traveled the last couplemonths, actually), she was
covered in barnacles on the hull(but not completely covered,
which is amazing for how muchtime she spent at sea), But the
(09:54):
contents were completely dry.
All the messages and gifts fromthe students were there In the
video.
They share the findings,history stuff, a school pin, a
coin, a bell from the school,explanations about the project
and a note for the finder, evenin French.
After the weekend I wasinterviewed by the local radio
(10:14):
station there and made a plea tothe students in France, asking
them to respond.
While the students in Floridaare feeling a sense of
successful completion now thatthe voyage is over, I just think
there's more to the story andconnection and can't wait for
them to correspond with eachother directly.
But their original learning goalwas exactly this" to track the
(10:36):
boat's journey as we studiedcurrents throughout the year,
and so, since Sea Eagle traveled2.3 years covering 14,000
kilometers across the ocean, fornow I'd have to just say
mission accomplished.
(11:05):
You have been listening to theEducational Passages podcast.
Thank you toeducationalpassagesorg slash
support.
If you're enjoying this program, please consider subscribing to
(11:26):
the podcast in Apple Podcasts,spotify, google Podcasts or from
wherever you download yourpodcasts.
Thanks for listening, thank you.
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