A transatlantic crossing by a miniature sailboat has sparked an extraordinary new relationship between a school in Cork and one all the way across in the United States.

Students of Barryroe National School are preparing to re-launch a plastic sailing craft which drifted all the way across the Atlantic, surviving the treacherous seas on its voyage from the US.

Sixth graders of Morristown Beard School (MBS) in New Jersey launched the boat, called the ‘Crimson Current’, into the ocean as part of a school experiment, and it survived the trans-atlantic voyage to wash ashore at Barry’s Cove on Cork’s south coast last July.

The sailboat was recovered by a local fisherman, Bill McCarthy, and his daughter, Katie, after a tip off from environmentalist group, the Ocean Plastic Project.

The hardy little craft had been packed with a Morristown Beard baseball cap, an Abraham Lincoln coffee mug, a USA jersey, and 35 letters from the MBS schoolchildren.

The craft was taken to the nearby school of Barryroe NS, sparking a beautiful friendship between the two schools, who have since exchanged conversations over online video calls.

Last Wednesday, MBS said its sixth graders continued their conversation with their peers from Cork, with an early morning Zoom call.

“The American students have designed half the new sail for the Crimson Current, and Barryroe showed them the Réalt na Mara crest they are adding. Launch day is drawing nearer,” said an MBS member of staff.

MBS students held an initial zoom call with the Barryroe students last October. Afterwards, students were paired up and began writing letters to each other, comparing notes on hobbies, sports, food, school, and their daily lives.

“During the Zoom call, students from both schools discussed their progress with launching their next sailboat,” the MBS spokesperson added. “The MBS students have been refurbishing the very first boat that the school launched, the Crimson Tide.

“Students discussed the significance of the boats’ sail and hull design, and listed some of the items they plan to include in its cargo container - a signed t-shirt, bracelets, candy, and sand from the Jersey shore.

“The Irish students will also include items in their boat that are meaningful to them, including a horseshoe, shells, and a signed soccer jersey.”

MBS sixth graders have launched a five-foot, unmanned sailboat into the Atlantic for the past 11 years as part of the educational passages program. “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,” the spokesperson stated further.

“This year’s MBS sixth grade class is hoping that its sailboat will land in Norway, Sweden, or even reach the Mediterranean Sea. The Irish students are hoping for their boat to land in either Cuba or Morocco.”

MBS geography teacher, Lisa Swanson, said she expects the Crimson Tide to be launched from a cargo ship at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, MBS has gifted the Crimson Current to Barryroe, who are preparing to relaunch it into the Atlantic at the Port of Cork this summer, with the aid of container ship, the M/V Independent Horizon.

Borrowing an idea from the Americans, the sailing craft will contain mementoes of Cork, with a Barryroe GAA jersey, a signed hurley, a St Brigid’s cross, some of Barryroe’s soil and even bags of Barry’s Tea.

Both schools will launch their respective sailboats at the same time to see where in the world the oceans will take them this time.