The Milwaukee Post

By DAN MUCKELBAUER Post Editor MILWAUKEE — "Pirates" got the first, but Bay View High School is hoping to get funding for two data-sending mini sail- boats next time. The Sconis was launched May 21 on Lake Michigan, eight miles off shore ofrom the South Shore Yacht Club. It ran aground in Kenosha two days later with its GPS removed, which was found but not the boat. More than 90 sopho- mores, juniors and seniors in teacher Jenna Nelson's chemistry, physics and principles of engineering classes were involved. "They were all disap- pointed," said Amy Johnson, Academy of Engineering director at Bay View High School, who coordinated the expedi- tion. "We made fun of it, saying, 'We think it was taken by pirates.'" The sailboat also had wide-ranging classroom applications. "I think it inspires them with imagination and learning about the weath- er, the Great Lakes and freshwater, geography, oceanography, latitude and longitude, whether it will sink, wind currents, and can it actually go through the Soo Locks," Johnson said. "It kind of shows the pos- sibilities of how you can use science outside of high school and how it connects to other things you learn," said Nelson, a first-year teacher. A $2,000 grant funded the Educational Passages sail- boat. More than 40 boats have been launched since 2008. "Many boats have made it across the ocean to Europe, and others very closely duplicated Columbus' route to the New World, and another ended up in an Irish pub," the Belfast, Maine-based company's website says of its 5-foot sailboats. The unmanned boats equipped with GPS devices can study ocean and wind patterns. For the Bay View project, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini- stration sent emails twice a day on latitude and longi- tude, the green signal tur ned to red when it stopped moving on the Memorial Day weekend, and the GPS unit was dis- covered two days later, Johnson said. The boats have launched primarily in the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Michigan was to be the first Great Lakes voyage for one of its vessels, Johnson said. "The second can be launched anywhere — the Cayman Islands, Portugal," she said, adding Educational Passages can help them find a ship to launch it. The plan is to get two new vessels. One possibly for Lake Michigan and the other might go in the Atlantic, but that hasn't been deter mined yet, Johnson said. "We didn't even talk about the Atlantic until the pirates took the boat," Johnson said. "They seem to have more luck in the ocean. They float a little bit longer before they run aground or before anyone else finds it," she said of the small crafts. "It's kind of like a float- ing pen pal. When someone finds it we want to know where they're from and we'll let them know where we're from," she said. That appealed to the stu- dents, she added. Not to mention the boat appealed to those dastardly pirates scouting the Kenosha Sand Dunes. "It looks cool. It says 'Bay View Redcats' on it," Johnson said. Nelson said each of her four classes drafted a letter and the students signed them before they went in the boat. Nelson attended a confer- ence that presented the project in March, she told Johnson about it, Johnson used an available grant, the boat was ordered in March, received in April, named Sconis by the stu- dents as a play on "Wisconsin," then decorat- ed by eight students before its launch by staff and spouses. Milwaukee Public School students can't go on the water as part of their class, but Johnson said perhaps they can use Discovery World's Denis Sullivan sailing vessel. That's just one direction for possible expansion as well as community involve- ment, Johnson said. South Shore Yacht Club members became excited about it and the Coast Guard expressed interest as the fast-moving project wrapped up, she said. "There was lot of inter- est about this project with a little boat," Nelson said, adding skeptics thought it might sink. "We posted the project on the school web- site and people started ask- ing questions about it." Among other thoughts kicked around are better identification and recovery infor mation, instructions for involving a school near where the boat might rest, connecting with the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee's freshwater program, and notifying yacht clubs around Lake Michigan, if that's where the second Sconis sails. We b s i t e s : w w w. e d u c a - tionalpassages.com and www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.u s/school/bayview/ June 26, 2015 • Milwaukee County Post • 3 Submitted photo Bay View High School's Amy Johnson, left, and Jenna Nelson prepare the Sconis for launch May 21 on Lake Michigan. While the sailboat was taken after it made a landfall, plans are afloat to expand the science and engineering project next school year. 'Pirates' take school's mini sailboat Bay View sets sights on next launch after Lake Michigan-worthy boat beached in Kenosha 8429 W. Forest Hill Ave. FRANKLIN 414-425-5696 Mon–Fri. 8-7, Sat. 8-6, Sun. 9-5 LUXEMBOURG GARDENS 4.5" Jumbo Pot Perennials $1 off! Excludes sale price. 4.5" Pot Annuals $4.00 each or 3/$10.00 Regular $4.95 each. Great Herb Selection! 1 Gallon Pot Perennials $2 off! Regular price. 10" Pot Rose Bushes $5 off! Excludes sale price. 10" Pot Flowering Hanging Baskets $5 off! Excludes sale price. All flats of Annuals $5 off! 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