CHILDREN from a school in the USA are appealing for beachgoers in Ceredigion to keep their eyes peeled for a small unmanned fibreglass boat.

Pupils at the St Andrews School of Math and Science in Charlestown, South Carolina, launched the Carolina Dreamer boat on 19 May last year as part of an educational project to help teach children about the science of the world’s oceans and act as a cultural exchange platform.

After a initially setting sail off the State of Maine training vessel, Carolina Dreamer washed up on the sunny shores of Bermuda less than a week later before she was again sent on her way across the Atlantic Ocean.

On the morning of Tuesday, 2 February, the Carolina Dreamer, which is equipped with a GPS device, transmitted its location as being approximately 10 miles to the north west of Aberystwyth, and a teacher from St Andrews, Amy McMahon, made contact with Aberystwyth Marina.

Since then, the Carolina Dreamer has stopped transmitting, causing those involved with the project to believe the small bright green and brown boat has washed up on Borth or Ynyslas beach.

Richard Baldwin, who created the Educational Passages project, said this was the second unmanned educational boat to have washed up in Wales.

He said: “This is the second mini boat that has landed in Wales, which is pretty amazing in that they seem to like to sail right up the channel between Ireland, Wales, and the UK.

“We — Amy, the students, and I — all hope we can get this boat into a local school to make this a really memorable and powerful learning opportunity.

“Carolinia Dreamer only reports twice daily at approximately 8.28am and 8.28pm GMT.

“What I think has happened is she washed up on the beach in the Borth area a few hours after her report on 2 February, and stopped reporting because she could be tipped too far on her side to report to the satellites, or perhaps too badly damaged. I’m surprised nobody has found her.

“It would not be unusual to have her mast missing as they really can get beat up in the surf. We are anxiously hoping to receive word and wish we could comb that beach ourselves.”

Mr Baldwin said he hoped the boat could be found both for the benefit of the children who launched it and for children at a school in the area in which it found.

“Special teachers really make this program exciting and effective,” added Mr Baldwin. “Every voyage is different and you never know what’s going to happen when a small boat goes to sea.

“This keeps the kids interested and I think this is what makes the marine science and international relation opportunities that make this special.”

The Carolia Dreamer Boat is approximately 1.6m long and 30cm wide. It has a brown hull and bright green top. Anyone who sees the boat is encouraged to keep it safe and e-mail Richard Baldwin at: [email protected].