Unmanned sailboat from Maine washes ashore on remote beach in Scotland
July 14, 2017
KENNEBUNK, Maine (LOG News Service) — A small sailboat built by high school students in Kennebunk has traveled across the Atlantic, washing ashore on a remote island in Scotland.
The Portland Press Herald reports the blue and white sail is a bit tattered but the solar panel, camera and sensors appear to be undamaged.
Named The Little Boat That Could by her student builders, the 5-foot self-steering boat is powered solely by wind and currents. Inside the boat is a waterproof pod with a chip to collect data from sensors aboard the tiny vessel.
All told, the boat spent 168 days and 12 hours at sea, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and sailing up and down the coast of Portugal before ending up in Scotland. It was discovered on June 23 by a pair of Canadian tourists walking their dog.
School officials are impressed by the durability of the tiny boat. Even the tiny Lego pirate serving as the students’ mascot survived the journey intact.
