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Educational Passages, a program based in Maine, takes researching the ocean to a whole new level.  Since its creation, over a dozen tiny sailboats have been released in the Atlantic Ocean in order to study the currents and winds, with boats being recovered in faraway places such as Portugal and Ireland.  The progam was the recent topic of discussion at The Apprenticeshop in Rockland as part of its “Second Thursday” series.

Educational Passages was the idea of Dick Baldwin from Belfast, who created the program to teach Maine’s children a bit about the ocean and data scientists use to study it.  You could say he knows a thing or two about both sailing and the ocean as he has successfully sailed solo.  At its inception back in 2008, five foot sailboats were equipped with tiny GPS tracking devices allowing students to track the boats online.

The program has taken off since then, and today there are new boat designs and students and community members, young and old, following the boats’ journey.  Some of these people take part by aiding in launching or recovering the sailboats.  The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association recently began using the sailboats to study Atlantic salmon in Penobscot Bay.

After the discussion attendees were given a tour of The Apprenticeshop, a place to learn the art of traditional boat building and learn the art of sailing.  Some of the highlights of the tour: a restored 20′ Aldean Indian-class sloop, 17′ work skiff designed by Mark Fitzgerald, and a 15′ Maine Light Station peapod replica to name a few.