Small Boat Launched by American Students Reaches Norway

Small Boat Launched¹ by American Students Reaches Norway

Students in the northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire sent a small boat into the Atlantic Ocean in October 2020. It was a school experiment to see where the ocean currents² would take the 1.8-meter long boat which was equipped³ with a satellite⁴ positioning system, or GPS.

The boat was found 462 days later on a small Norwegian island.

The boat was called the Rye Riptides, named for Rye Junior High. It was covered with student artwork and contained autumn leaves, pictures and coins honoring⁵ different U.S. states.

A Norwegian student found the boat on February 1 on the island of Smola. It is off the nation's northwestern coast.

The trip covered more than 13,300 kilometers. The boat lost some of its parts and it was covered in barnacles. The student who found the boat took it to his school. The American students are planning a call with the Norwegian students soon.

The students worried several times that their boat had gone missing⁶. It stopped communicating with the satellite. However, the boat started showing where it was again last summer when it was near Ireland⁷. On January 30, it seemed to have reached land.

One of the American students who launched the boat, Molly Flynn, said she was "surprised the boat actually made it somewhere." Flynn said she was worried the boat would get lost in the middle of the ocean. She called it "cool and surprising" that it was found.

The students continued to follow the boat even when the teacher who started the project with them retired⁸.

Cassie Stymiest runs an educational program based in Maine that started working with the American students on the project in 2018. She said: "When you're sending it out, you have no idea where it's going to end up, how it's going to get there, if it ends up (anywhere) at all."

Stymiest said the students "put their hopes and dreams and wishes into it, and I tend to think sometimes that helps."

Words in This Story

coin – n. a piece of money made from metal

barnacle – n. a kind of small shellfish that attaches⁹ itself to rocks and the bottoms of boats

cool – adj. appealing in a way approved of mainly by young people

tend –v. used to describe what often happens or what someone often does or is likely to do

1 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

2 currents   

电流( current的名词复数 )； 水流； 流速

参考例句：

• The motorboat cut across swift currents and skirted dangerous reefs. 汽艇穿过激流，绕过险滩。
• She was swept away by the treacherous currents. 她给凶险的激流卷走了。

3 equipped   

装备的

参考例句：

• The kitchen was compact but well equipped. 这间厨房虽然空间小但设备齐全。
• Rooms vary in size and come equipped with hairdriers, television and telephone. 房间大小不同，均配有吹风机、电视和电话。

4 satellite   

n.卫星

参考例句：

• The moon is a satellite of the earth.月球是地球的一颗卫星。
• A man-made satellite has been launched.人造卫星上天。

5 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

6 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

7 Ireland   

n.爱尔兰(西欧国家)；爱尔兰岛(西欧)

参考例句：

• Ireland lies to the west of England.爱尔兰位于英格兰之西。
• Dublin is the capital of Ireland.都柏林是爱尔兰的首都。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 attaches   

贴上，系，附上( attach的第三人称单数 )； （有时不受欢迎或未受邀请而）参加； 把…固定； 把…归因于

参考例句：

• Mother attaches a great deal of value to good manners. 妈妈很重视礼貌。
• No suspicion attaches to him. 他无可怀疑。