Students from IES Eusebio Barreto http://centroguapo.blogspot.com/in Los Llanos de Aridane, in partnership with the Oceanic Platform, of the Canary Islands have launched the educational sailing boat called iFADO II-Buche Salado into the sea off Tazacorte, island of La Palma, which has joined the educational boats Atlantic Regatta with a great and promising performance, since three days after sailing its position points West, very favorable for crossing the ocean helped by the trade winds and ocean currents.
With a length of 1.5 meters and 20 kilos weight, the boat has been built and equipped by the students within the framework of the Educational Passages, an international educational program created and led by a multidisciplinary consortium of North American institutions, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and several secondary schools. The program has participants and collaborators in Portugal, France, Belgium, Canada, Norway, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain
In this way, the IFADO II-Buche Salado joins the group of boats that, as an international regatta, currently are sailing the waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, trying to generate the most unique and enriching voyages. https://educationalpassages.org/events/atsea/
The initiative attempts to engage secondary school’s students along the school year through their technology subject in the construction of small sailing boats from the same mold, assembling and sealing its main parts and equipping it with a GPS transmitter, in order to be deployed in the North Atlantic Ocean, and monitor them during their navigation journey. The initiative not only allows the students inclusion in the field of technology, but also in cross-cutting subjects such as biology, oceanography, history and computer science, as well as languages, by being able to interact with schools from other countries as an exchange of knowledge and experiences.
The iFADO II-Buche Salado sets sail after its predecessor, the iFADO I (launched last February 2nd by students at IES Garoé of El Hierro islands in the waters of La Restinga, and which has unknown location after losing satellite communication just few days after starting their voyage), and the Canarias IV, Canarias III, Canarias II y Canarias I. Monitoring of the voyage in real time through the web https://educationalpassages.org/boats/ifado2/
The activity is promoted by the iFADO project: http://www.ifado.eu/ belonging to the Interreg Atlantic. programme. iFADO attempts to define and implement marine services on a regional and sub-regional scale, using the Atlantic waters of the European Union as a case study. Filling existing technical gaps, iFADO will use the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) to demonstrate the application of innovative products.
